A City Nevermore
by Ravinesque
Summary: After a short, humiliating battle with the Titans, a vengeful criminal steals and breaks Raven's mirror. With Raven left comatose, the Titans must repair the mirror before the world of Nevermore - and its quirky inhabitants - takes over the city.
1. Gifts and Glass

A/N: I would like to mention that this will _not_ be a romance story, and any intimacy you read is actually stimulated from _friendship_, not actual romance. You can interpret it how you wish, as long as you don't hound me with the fact that you don't understand "who is coupled with whom." There are _no _couples and there is_ no _intended romance. Thanks for reading!

xxxx

Beast Boy's fist hovered over the pneumatic door, shaking slightly from anxiety. In his other hand he held a box in ribbons and a single rose. "Come on BB," he whispered. "Just knock." He could see the other gifts piled outside the door, each labelled "To Raven, Happy Valentines!" from each of the other Titans. Starfire had even written another note on heart-shaped card that said "From Silkie." Like Beast Boy, the other Titans had been far too scared to hand their gifts over personally.

The changeling could still clearly remember the day that Raven had lost control of her anger, the same day that he and Cyborg had accidentally transported themselves into Raven's very mind. He'd been sure that she hated him, and had been shocked to discover that she thought the same of him. Ever since, the changeling had felt terrible that he'd ever given Raven that idea. He was determined to show her that he cared for her, not just as a teammate, but as a best friend.

So now, he was going to bite the bullet and hand over his Valentines' present straight to her face, along with a smile and a classic, "Happy Valentine's Day!" He was going to show her that he really could care, even more than Starfire, who was usually all about gift-giving.

His arm began to ache; his fist had been hanging in the air for so long, an inch from Raven's door. "Come on," he hissed again to himself. His knuckles neared the metal, closer...closer...

_BEEM. BEEM. BEEM_. Inside, Beast Boy's heart dropped. The alarm. Of all the times it could have gone off!

Raven's door hissed open, and he was suddenly face-to-face with the dark girl. She scowled at him after her initial look of surprise. "What were you doing?" she asked suspiciously. Beast Boy hastily hid the present behind his back and waved nervously with his other hand, grinning stupidly.

"Er, just wanted to say...um..."

"Spit it out, Beast Boy." Her voice was harsh.

"Erm," he gulped visibly and cleared his throat. "I wanted to say...Happy Val-"

"Trouble!" called Robin, who had appeared in the hallway. Raven turned to him and closed her door behind her. Beast Boy sighed. So much for his heroics. As the other Titans began towards the garage, Beast Boy placed his gift beside Raven's door, opposite the others'. Maybe he could say it later...

xxxx

Raven was in a particularly bad mood. She'd hardly slept due to nightmares, and the other Titans noticed as she emanated more anger than usual on the drive to downtown, Jump City. There had been a scramble for the front seat – no one wanted to sit beside her in her mood. Eventually, Cyborg himself was the one to suffer as Raven sat beside him in the front seat. She sat with her arms folded and hood covering her eyes.

As the car sped across the bridge, Cyborg tried to make conversation. "So umm..." he glanced awkwardly at Raven, then at Robin in the back seat. "Who are we dealing with, again?"

Robin looked thoughtful as he speedily typed into the T-car's onboard computer. "Not quite sure, but his work looks familiar. At first glance, I'd say it was Mumbo, but Mumbo is too flashy, and he loves the attention. This guy is acting far too quietly."

"Maybe he's a copycat," Beast Boy grinned. "I bet he's just as weird."

"If it is, in fact, a _he_." said Robin quickly, noticing as Starfire glared at the changeling.

"What is it that makes you believe that this criminal is similar to Mumbo?" Starfire leaned over and peered into Robin's screen. "What has he or _she-_" she shot a look at Beast Boy. "-been doing?

"People are disappearing and then reappearing at ridiculous locations."

"Such as...?"

"Such as among the pins in the bowling alley, and inside drainpipes. There are also – strange as it is – ghost-like duplicates of normal people running wildly arou-Beast Boy, what's so funny?" The green boy had been giggling silently, now he burst into hysterics.

"Haha! Are you serious? Drainpipes! Oh man, haha that's crazy. And people are suddenly finding long lost twins? Wow, this is even _better_ than Mumbo!"

"Shut up, Beast Boy," came a voice from the front. Everyone fell silent; Raven was speaking. "It's not funny. Unlike you, people can't transform when in trouble. I'd imagine being stuck in a drainpipe would be awfully painful."

"I know, I was just..."

"You were just shutting up," she snapped in an unforgiving tone. Beast Boy closed his mouth and looked down sadly. Robin gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder, but gasped as the car suddenly crashed into something solid, before skidding to a stop, the rear end swinging around in an arc. The momentum caused the door to fly open, and Beast Boy tumbled out, dazed. Robin fell out too, but rolled onto his feet quickly.

The T-car's front left-side had smashed into what appeared to be a large, translucent prism. It was made of clear glass, which may have been why Cyborg hadn't seen it. The glass hadn't even cracked from the impact; in fact it had barely moved across the ground, but the front of the T-car was completely totalled. As Starfire and Raven climbed out, shaken, Cyborg angrily pushed the wreckage away from the offending structure.

"You'd think they called it 'reinforced steel' for a reason," he growled. The prism was at least five metres tall and as wide as his entire bedroom.

"What is this thing?" called Beast Boy, as he walked around the giant prism, inspecting it. He peered at his reflection, which to his surprise appeared be standing on the other side of the glass. Not _in_ the glass, like a mirror, but standing next to Robin on the other side of the prism. "Weird mirror," he mused.

"WHOA!" Cyborg turned to see Beast Boy grinning at him weirdly. Hadn't he just heard Beast Boy call from the other side of the giant prism a second ago? "What's with the stupid face, BB?"

He didn't answer, just continued to smile widely, showing all of his teeth. Then, to the Titans' astonishment, a second Beast Boy appeared from the other side of the prism.

In the stunned silence that followed, Raven moaned audibly. "That's all we need. Two idiots."

xxxx

Sorry for the strange beginning. It will get much better, I promise!


	2. Mirror Master

"What the heck, you're me!" Beast Boy cried, pointing dramatically at his double, which was still grinning stupidly.

"Which one is the real Beast Boy?" Starfire stood between the two changelings, eyes flitting back and forth.

"It's me! I don't look _that_ stupid." Beast Boy folded his arms and poked his tongue out at the imposter. Everyone looked to Raven.

She glared back, and pointed to the changeling who had just spoken. "He's the real one. He has just a little more brain activity than the other."

"Oh, you're hilarious," Beast Boy rolled his eyes, but secretly his heart sunk. She didn't _have_ to be so mean. Before he could do anything about his double, however, it leapt straight up, somersaulted backwards and landed on the top of the huge prism. It stood up straight and pushed its chest out, as though laughing, but not making a sound. It then proceeded to make ugly faces at the Titans below.

"Ignoring the fact that it's far more athletically capable than Beast Boy," Robin began, making Cyborg giggle.

"Not to mention taller...and better looking." Beast Boy punched Cyborg in the arm, but winced as his knuckles connected with the half-robot's hard metal body.

Robin raised his eyebrows at them. "I was going to say, I've seen this sort of thing before. Except...well...it was better last time." He finished mysteriously.

"What does it remind you of?" Raven asked stolidly. Cyborg and Beast Boy had begun to pull faces right back at the duplicate above.

"Well, back when I worked in Gotham, there was-" Robin stopped in midsentence as his eyes fell on the building across the street. Raven and Starfire followed his gaze and gasped. Squatting on a buttress above the first storey was a man in an orange and green jumpsuit. As their eyes met his, he smiled widely and waved, as though unconcerned.

"It _is_ you!" Robin cried. "What are you doing _here_, in Jump City?"

Before their very eyes, the strange man disappeared. "Where-" Starfire began, but was cut short as harsh laughter rang from above. The Titans jumped back as they saw the same man appear above them, standing upon the giant prism next to the second Beast Boy.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Boy Wonder," the villain mocked. "It's been a while. Gotham wasn't much fun, you know."

Robin scowled up at him. "You're supposed to be locked up – in Central City!"

"Wait-wait-wait! Dudes! You know each other?" Beast Boy pointed at Robin and the newcomer, then his fingers switched directions. "Introductions would be super. You know, before we kick his butt and all."

Since the foe appeared not to care about Beast Boy's interruption, Robin complied. "He calls himself the Mirror Master. No one knows how, but he can trap people in their own reflections." Instinctively, the Titans backed five paced away from the glass before them.

"As you can tell, Robin," Mirror Master patted the shoulder of the imitation Beast Boy. "I'm actually into a new racket nowadays."

"Sorry to break it to you," Robin crouched and pulled out a birdarang. "But it isn't going to last. Titans, _get him!"_ The birdarang sliced through the air, but went right through Mirror Master as if he were smoke. The criminal laughed.

"It's hopeless, children." He laughed again as starbolts went right through him and the second Beast Boy, not harming them in the slightest. Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl and attacked his twin, but like the others, couldn't make any contact. In response, the other Beast Boy continued to grin stupidly back, mocking him. Robin crouched, ready to leap onto the monolithic prism.

"Wait a second," Cyborg pulled Robin backwards. "What if he's done the opposite? You know, brought the reflection _out_, instead of trapping someone _in_."

"Cyborg's right," Raven murmured. "They're illusions."

"Well, find the _real_ Mirror Master, before he replicates any more of us!" Robin growled, shaking Cyborg's hand off of his shoulder. "Split up! He'll be nearby, probably watching us. Raven, you guard the prism."

Raven merely nodded her assent, and the Titans dispersed in four directions. The Mirror Master and Beast Boy duplicates continued to stand upon the prism, staring down at her and laughing. She glared up at them, furious.

"Do you have nothing better to do?"

"I could say the same, little miss."

"Don't call me that, you cheap fake." Raven narrowed her eyes and looked back down. Ignore them, she thought. They can't do anything. They're just there as distractions. Control your emotions.

"I'd heard about you Teen Titans," said the fake Mirror Master conversationally. "But you look so much taller in the newspapers."

Raven gritted her teeth and concentrated on the shiny prism, admiring the simple beauty of its clear glass, which refused to properly reflect the sunlight.

"You're the witch-girl." He wouldn't give up. "You use telekinesis, right? Stunning...stunningly _boring._"

Refusing to give the duplicates any satisfaction, Raven didn't look up. But she replied angrily, "What about yourself? Mirror Master? You're a complete cliché. I've heard of you too, and I must say that I'm disappointed."

"Wh-what?" In the corner of her eye, Raven saw the fake Beast Boy topple over, laughing silently at her remark. The Mirror Master reflection raised his voice. "Insolent witch-girl!"

Raven's temper was ready to burst apart, but she saw right through his facade. "No matter what you say, I don't care. You're only a fake, and you can't do anything to me."

There was a silence, in which Raven casually meditated, trying to get a firmer grasp on her anger. Something about Mirror Master's words got to her, more than usual. She couldn't quite place it, however. Right now, he was probably thinking of something else to say to annoy her, to distract her. She sighed inwardly, wondering how the other Titans were doing.

Suddenly, a cold hand grasped her head and an arm curled around her body, trapping her against her attacker's torso. Peering into the glass, she saw the reflection being held by another Mirror Master...the real Mirror Master.

"Don't like my double then, do you?" he rasped into her ear. Before she could even fight back, he pushed her towards the glass and pointed her head straight at the flat prism face. "Look," he continued, his voice eerier and fouler than his copy. "Aren't you pretty?"

Unwittingly, she stared into the glass, into her own eyes. Behind her, she could see Mirror Master clutching her, forcing her to look. As she prepared magic words in her head, hoping to retaliate, she suddenly noticed something.

Her reflection was gone. It was just Mirror Master now, alone – laughing at her. How could that be?

It wasn't his reflection, she realised with horror. She was, somehow, _inside the prism_.

xxxx

Thanks for the reviews and favourites! I'm trying to get past the beginning so I can get into the best part, so excuse the freakishly weird chapter. XD Also, in case you didn't know, I didn't invent Mirror Master – he is one of the Flash's greatest villains, and sometimes sneaks into Gotham to cause havoc. Yay crossovers!


	3. Shattered

"You think you're tough," mocked Mirror Master. "But really, you're the weakest of them all."

"I am not weak," Raven glared back at him hatefully, not sure if he would be able to hear her through the thick glass of the prism. As it was, he either didn't hear or flatly ignored her, instead motioning to his duplicate and the fake Beast Boy to jump down beside him. The real Mirror Master pressed a button on the machine strapped to his shoulders, and before her very eyes, they wavered into nothingness, like a couple of holograms.

She scratched the perfect glass with her nails, furious. This would not stand! He had some nerve, treating her like an amateur...how it _enraged_ her! Before losing control, Raven breathed in deeply, sat down in a cross-legged position and began meditating. _Don't lose control. Don't lose control. Don't-_

"You're definitely the ugliest, too, not pretty at all. You'd think the robot was an eyesore, but _you_, on the other hand-"

Her head exploded. "SHUT UP!" She screamed. "SHUT UP, YOU FILTHY, HORRIBLE MAN!" She saw red, darkness clouding her mind. Nothing mattered but his _immediate_ demise. Tendrils of darkness flew out from under her cloak and sliced through the glass, causing the entire prism to explode. Huge shards of glass flew in all directions, lethal spears of crystal that crashed into the buildings surrounding the street, causing even more destruction.

Mirror Master scrambled to avoid the myriad projectiles, barely surviving the onslaught. His costume was ripped, and his special shoulder-apparatus blew apart, destroying any power he might have left. His eyes widened at the sight: Raven's eyes were glowing red; her cloak was billowing, darkness flowing out as if it couldn't stop. It was a nightmarish sight – awful, horrifying. Seeing the transformed Titan before him, he squealed girlishly and backed away slowly – desperate to run, but terrified to move.

"NOW WHO IS THE WEAKEST?" The voice wasn't hers – it was demonic; it belonged to something unimaginably terrible. "RUNNING AWAY FROM THE 'HARMLESS, LITTLE WITCH-GIRL,' ARE YOU?" Mirror Master shrugged off his damaged machine and ran for his life, screaming at the top of his lungs. Before he had got even five metres, he heard, "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" Something grabbed his ankle and he was dragged backwards, across the already glass-covered street.

Whatever had grabbed him turned him around and held him upside-down by his ankle, right in front of Raven's face. Up close, it was even more terrifying than he could have imagined. "Please!" He cried uncharacteristically. "Please let me go! I'll do anything! Please don't kill me, please!"

A whirring sound distracted both monster and victim – a birdarang suddenly sliced right through the tendril of darkness that had captured Mirror Master, causing him to fall back onto the sharp, crystal-covered asphalt. Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg burst onto the scene – and several things happened at once. Robin immediately rushed to Raven and tackled her – clutching her in his arms tightly, so she wasn't hurt when they landed. Cyborg smashed the rest of Mirror Master's strange apparatus and pinned him to the ground. Beast Boy transformed into a python and wrapped himself around the criminal, trapping him in his iron grasp – it wasn't necessary however, as Mirror Master was too shocked to even blink.

Starfire landed next to Robin and Raven, a grim expression on her face. "Oh, Raven! Are you alright? Can you speak? Are you hurt?"

Robin leaned Raven against his knee and held her head upright, as her energy seemed to have faded completely. "Give her a little space Star," he murmured, as he pulled back Raven's hood. She looked half-asleep; rings under her eyes and skin paler than usual. "I'm...okay," she whispered.

"Thank gornog!" Starfire cried, attempting to hug her. Robin pushed her back gently with one hand, and shook his head.

"Remember what I said about personal space, Star." Nevertheless, Starfire helped Raven stand back up, as Robin plucked a small chunk of glass that had buried itself in his glove.

"Get off," Raven snapped, suddenly ripping Starfire's arm from her shoulders. Then, with a momentary glance at Robin, she flew into the air and vanished, leaving the Titans in the cluttered street.

xxxx

Raven headed straight for her room, hoping to meditate as soon as possible. Her emotions were welling over, refusing to back down, and she had to regain control before something else terrible happened.

At her door, she paused, seeing the presents that had been laid out. Each was labelled with hearts and the names of the other Titans...gifts - for Valentines. A fleeting thought crossed her mind, but she pushed it away and walked straight on, as if she hadn't even noticed the gifts. Instead of going to her room, she went up onto the roof of the Tower, leaving her door unlocked.

Once settled on the edge of the roof, she locked herself into the deepest, darkest part of her mind and anchored herself there, hoping more than anything that the Titans could forgive her for what she'd done.

xxxx

Though the Titans – including Robin himself – were against locking Mirror Master up in the cell inside Titan Tower, he knew it was the only choice. The criminal had caused some awful damage in both Central City and Gotham City, finding it very easy to escape even the most secure of prisons. He had a strange talent for such escapades, and Robin could only assume it had something to do with his power to enter mirrors. At least he could be holed up inside the Tower until the Titans could contact someone who could handle the strange villain.

Despite Beast Boy's and Starfire's indignant demands, Robin threw Mirror Master inside the secure cell, locking the solid-steel door afterwards. Turning back to the Titans, he held up his hands as a sign of peace.

"Look guys, Raven will be okay. Just because _he_ is in the same building doesn't mean she will...er, well it won't happen again." He made himself sound more confident than he felt.

"Even so," Starfire pestered. "It will still upset her to be reminded of this man and what he...what he made her do."

Beast Boy was even more adamant. "How can you be so heartless? Raven needs to be away from this guy! It's best that she never even hear about him again...ever!"

"Robin's right," Cyborg finally spoke up. "Raven will be okay, BB. She's not as breakable as you always seem to think she is, and you don't have to try and be her hero all of the time."

The changeling was caught off-guard. "Wha...no, it's not like that! I just don't see why she has to suffer-"

Robin put his face right up to Beast Boy's. "Do you really think I would let anything happen to Raven?"

"Er, well..."

"It's nice that you are thinking for her, Beast Boy. However, she will be perfectly safe...and so will Mirror Master. I think you're kind of overreacting."

Beast Boy looked down at his feet, embarrassed. He trusted Robin with his life – and Raven's, of course – but he couldn't stave off the bad feeling that was coming from the cell beside them. He did have a million enhanced animal instincts, after all. He was sure he could smell trouble lurking behind the giant, solid door, no matter how secure Cyborg and Robin claimed it to be.

xxxx

It was almost midnight, and Raven still had not returned from the roof. Beast Boy and Starfire had been fighting over who would get to go up and comfort her, but once again Robin appeared on the scene, looking a little annoyed.

"I thought I told you that she wants to be left alone."

"No person would want to be alone for this long, especially after such a horrible thing has happened." Starfire countered. "She needs somebody, even if she doesn't want them there."

Instead of retorting like Starfire, Beast Boy kept quiet. He thought about his Valentines gift, still lying outside Raven's door. The rose was probably half-dead now, and Raven might not come back for the whole night. Even if she did, would she see the gifts by her door? Maybe he should have waited to give them to her, instead of relenting and leaving them there.

"Raven will come down when she is ready," Robin was saying. "You know very well that you shouldn't disturb her."

"She needs a hug!" Starfire cried.

"She needs to meditate." Robin rubbed his temples in impatience. "Come on Star, maybe she'll be okay by morning."

"Morning is in six minutes," was the smug reply.

Beast Boy quietly left the room, leaving the two to argue. He knew Robin was right, but couldn't help but feel responsible...again. Did she blame him? Did she hate him, perhaps? On the way to his room, he saw Cyborg's door was still open, and invited himself.

"Hey Cy, you're still up?"

"I could say the same for you." The half-robot was typing furiously into a computer, but as the changeling entered, he turned around and subtly shut down whatever he had been working on. "Is it Raven?"

"Yea. She won't talk to us, and she's all alone, up on the roof. It's kind of like last time, you know?"

"Don't ask me to remember. I try not to." Cyborg was referring to the day that he and Beast Boy had accidentally fallen into Raven's mind via her strange, handheld mirror.

"Right," Beast Boy attempted to take his mind off Raven. "So, why are you still up?"

"I always stay up late, remember?"

"...okay. Why?"

"Well, to be honest..." Cyborg looked down, as though embarrassed. "I was thinking about Raven, too."

"Oh..." An awkward silence ensued, both teens unsure of what to say. They both cared immensely for Raven, and wanted to talk to her, but knew that they lacked the proper tact that Robin or Starfire seemed to have. If you could call what Starfire had 'tact.'

xxxx

Outside the door, Mirror Master grinned. The girl was on the roof, then? All alone? Perfect.

He still couldn't _believe_ the way he had acted before. He'd been like a scared kid, screaming and pleading for his life. How humiliating. How revolting. Instead of blaming himself for his behaviour, Mirror Master blamed Raven. How dare she do that to him? That monster. She was like a demon, inhuman. The fear he had felt before was long forgotten - replaced by utter humiliation and a thirst for revenge.

Stealing through the hallway, he turned and came across – ironically – her bedroom. It had to be hers; it had her name on the door. He hadn't planned on coming across her room, and instantly ideas sparked in his head. Vengeful ones.

Outside the door were several gifts – of course, it was Valentine's Day today. She seemed to be either the only object of affection, or everyone had been too afraid to hand over their gifts personally. Mirror Master chuckled softly to himself and braced himself against the door, testing its strength. To his surprise, the door opened on its own. It must have been unlocked, as Raven sure didn't seem the type to leave her personal belongings open to the other Titans.

He chuckled again at the sight of her decor: Halloween-style. And she called _him_ a cliché. He peered at her crooked mirror, obviously structured so to seem 'creepy.' However, something caught his eye: an ominous, handheld mirror, on the dresser in front of the bigger mirror. He picked it up, feeling the stone horns and intricate filigree of its back. In a creepy, Raven-ish way, it was beautiful. Mirror Master smiled to himself. It would be too bad if she lost it.

"What the...how did you...? Titans!" The voice made him jump. It was that ridiculous Boy Wonder, trapping him inside Raven's room. Mirror Master thought quickly, and before Robin could reach him, dodge-rolled to the right and sprinted away as fast as he could. Damn it! Everything had been going so well, too.

To his surprise, he saw the small mirror was still in his hand. Funny, he was sure he had dropped it. _SMACK!_ Beast Boy was trampled underneath, instantly incapacitated. Mirror Master could see the living room ahead now, the door thankfully open wide.

Mirror Master headed straight for the huge pane of glass, aiming to disappear into its reflective surface. Cyborg readily blasted the window before the criminal could manage an escape. The momentum was too much – Mirror Master flew through the gaping hole.

"Quick! Star, catch him!" Starfire placed a dazed Beast Boy on the sofa and rocketed after Mirror Master. She saw him plummeting, but was shocked to see that he was staring into the little mirror, smiling. She picked up speed, trying to reach him before the ground did – and that was when it happened. She couldn't believe her eyes: Mirror Master disappeared, _into the mirror_. But, as soon as he did, there was an awful, bone-chilling scream. The mirror, in mid-air, _exploded_.


	4. Intelligent Advice

To say the mirror exploded was a dire understatement.

Aside from the glass face completely being smashed, there was a magnificent, thunderous _BOOM_, followed instantly by a shockwave that threw Starfire forcefully into the Tower wall. It was just as though an atomic bomb had been detonated. Out of the shattered mirror, huge tentacles of darkness burst, slithering into the world from nowhere, as if from another dimension. They snaked along the Tower, hugging its walls and spreading rapidly, choking the building in its grasp.

Starfire rejoined the Titans as they watched from the huge hole in the living room's window. From what had been the mirror, darkness was continuing to pour out, as though it wouldn't end. One particularly long tendril shot straight up into the sky, and as it reached the clouds, the sky turned from dark blue to blood-red in an instant.

"What is happening?" Starfire cried. "Is this_ his_ new power?"

Beast Boy looked to Cyborg, agreeing silently with the half-robot's pained look. "We have to get to Raven," he said harshly. "_Now_."

No one needed to be told twice. Each of them jumped out of the window and flew to the roof, Robin and Cyborg being carried by the other two. The sight when they reached the very top made each of them shriek in horror. Raven was lying down – in mid air – her eyes lifeless and her body motionless. The Titans rushed to her side at once, mentally putting two-and-two together.

"Oh man, oh man...come on Raven, wake up..."

"You must wake up! Raven, you _must!"_

"Raven, please don't...I mean, you have to..."

She didn't answer, but her face contorted into an expression of immense pain. As it did, a loud crackling sound came from below. Robin and Cyborg ran to look, just in time to see the final explosion: black thunderbolts arched out of the darkness, each one followed by what looked like multi-coloured comets. Each of these 'comets' in turn flew rapidly in different directions across the city. As they disappeared, the cloud of darkness below imploded, leaving nothing more than what appeared to be the remains of Raven's handheld mirror. It fell to the rocks below.

Raven's face changed back to the dull, lifeless expression she had had before. Her eyes were completely black, as if there were no soul within, and she continued to float a couple feet off of the rooftop, not moving an inch.

"What...just happened?" Robin turned on Cyborg, suspicion crossing his face.

"Look, man," Cyborg held up his hands in defence. "I had no idea that that was going to happen. I don't even know _how_ it happened."

"What do you know?" Robin shot back. "I know you know, because you and Beast Boy helped Raven the last time that she lost control."

Cyborg looked nervously to Beast Boy. "Well..."

"Spit it out. We need to help Raven."

"This probably won't help at all, dude," Beast Boy mumbled. "But like you said...last time...well me and Cyborg decided to sneak into her room-"

"-you decided it! I knew we were going to get in trouble." Cyborg finished for him, indignant. "Then Beast Boy found that mirror and teleported us-"

"-it was an accident! Who the heck booby-traps a mirror? I was just looking!"

"Anyway," Cyborg continued, ignoring Beast Boy. "She called it Nevermore. It was...her mind. This whole world, in her head."

Robin didn't seem too surprised, but Starfire was appalled. "Then this...'Nevermore'..." she whispered. "It has been...unleashed?"

"Mirror Master wanted to escape into its reflection," Robin guessed. "But, being a part of Raven, it rebuked him, and instead he accidentally brought the reflection out, like he did with Beast Boy earlier."

"How on earth are we going to get all of this," Beast Boy waved his arm to indicate the tendrils of darkness that were swarming slowly over the city. "-back into that tiny mirror?"

"It's quite simple, actually." The voice they heard was the last that they expected. The Titans whirled around to face...

"...Raven?"

But, it didn't _look_ like Raven. Or, perhaps a better description would be that Raven would _never_ be caught looking like she did now. Her cloak was bright yellow, and past the shadow of her hood they could see thick, geeky glasses.

They looked from the comatose Raven to the yellow one, trying to figure out what was going on. The new Raven spoke,

"Yes, I am Raven, and I can help you reverse this cataclysm."

"Who says _that_ anymore?" muttered Beast Boy, but got a pinch in the arm from Cyborg.

Starfire's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Raven? But Raven...she's here...and there...but you're...?" She couldn't finish any of her questions, too shocked.

The yellow Raven seemed to understand Starfire's reaction, and smiled slightly. "Nevermore is Raven's mind. _Literally._ So, all of the different sides of her personality belong in her mind, correct? With her mirror broken, the world of Nevermore is escaping into the city, including myself. I am Raven's intelligent side."

"Oh. That explains the glasses," remarked Beast Boy, struggling to keep from laughing, even knowing that in the back of his head that the situation was beyond terrible.

"So, all of the different sides to Raven's personality will be running amok through the city?" Robin asked.

"Precisely," Raven replied, pushing her glasses up her nose, ignoring Beast Boy's snort.

"Wait a second," Cyborg stepped forward. "You're talking in third person, as if...well, the other Ravens talked like they really were the real Raven."

"Hence, intelligent. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm not my own person." Raven said simply, gesturing her glasses.

"Other Ravens?" Robin turned on Cyborg. "You mean you met these...personalities?"

"Only a couple," said Beast Boy. "But they weren't as weird as this one."

"Thank you," Raven glared. "Only Beast Boy could make an emotionless personality feel terrible."

It hit home, and Beast Boy felt _worse_ than terrible. "No, it wasn't like that-"

"Moving on," Raven continued, ignoring him. "To recapture the world of Nevermore, you simply have to repair the mirror." At this, she held up the charred remains of the handheld mirror. The frame itself was relatively intact, yet there was no glass left inside.

"So, what...we call a glass-fitter?" Cyborg scoffed.

Raven patiently shook her head and traced her finger around the edge of the empty frame. "No, you must find the pieces. They've been scattered across the city; stolen by the others...the others like _me."_ At the last word her voice shook, as though it had been painful to say.

"How many pieces?" Robin asked, seriously.

"How many _Ravens?"_ Cyborg raised one eyebrow.

"Nine. Well, now there is only eight left to locate." She produced a shard of the shattered mirror, and fitted the piece snugly back inside the frame.

"Eight more pieces?" Robin put his hand to his chin, thinking.

"_Eight more Ravens?"_ Cyborg raised the other eyebrow.

"Yes, that _is _what I said, is it not? You had better find them as quickly as possible. Some of the...others...they will not appreciate being told that they have to return to the mirror."

"Do they think of this 'Nevermore' as a prison?" asked Starfire.

"If you think about it enough, yes."

"Do you, Intelligent Raven? Do you believe that you were imprisoned?"

Raven looked away, hiding her face behind the shadow of her hood. "That does not matter," she whispered. "The real Raven must awaken. _That_ is what matters most of all. Without her, we are nothing, and without us, she is...well you can see for yourself..." She waved her arm in the direction of the real Raven, lying lifeless in midair.

Robin put his hand on Starfire's arm, warning her from continuing her interrogation. "Okay, Titans," he said seriously. "We have to find the other pieces. We'll split up. Starfire and I will head east. Beast Boy and Cyborg, you search the west. Contact if you find trouble, and make sure you retrieve all the pieces. Raven's life depends on us...all of them." He finished, looking at the yellow Raven, who barely managed to smile back at him.

"Go," she said. "Every piece _must_ be restored."


	5. Soda

Robin and Starfire had already gone, but Beast Boy stayed, waiting for Cyborg to quickly replace his battery downstairs. The changeling nervously faced the yellow Raven and spoke in a shaky voice,

"Do...um, do you hate me?"

"Of course not," was the instant reply.

"Then why-"

"I just think you're an idiot."

"...oh."

Raven's eyes softened. "Beast Boy, you can't ignore the fact that you can be quite stupid at times."

"Why are you so angry, then?"

"I'm not angry. I don't get angry."

"Could've fooled me," Beast Boy muttered, recalling Raven's previous attack on Mirror Master.

"Ignoring the fact that _anything_ could fool you, Beast Boy, I only got a little upset because I, as the intelligent side of Raven, know more than the other Ravens do. Sometimes, the truth can hurt. You just reminded me."

"Reminded you? Of what? What truth?" Beast Boy pressed.

"That I don't actually exist." Her voice was hardened now, trying to protect the obvious emotion that came from the topic.

"Raven, I-"

"Go," she repeated harshly. "You must find the other pieces of the mirror."

The topic was obviously closed. Beast Boy ran his hand down his face in impatience. "I don't even know where to _look."_

"I wouldn't be surprised to find one very close by," said Raven, mysteriously. "Now, go and find Cyborg, and get those pieces."

"But-"

"_Now."_

xxxx_  
_

Beast Boy was beyond shocked to discover that the Gamestation was on. He'd walked past the door to the living room when he heard the loud crashes of his newest game, _Speedforce II_, booming through the walls. He opened the door and stared at the giant screen, depicting a Porsche racing through a desert track.

"Cyborg!" he cried. "What on earth are you doing?" He ran down the length of the room and, ignoring the gaping hole in the window, approached the sofa. "This is ser-" his mouth dropped open when he saw who was playing. _"...Raven!"_

He couldn't believe his eyes. Raven? Playing _Gamestation?_ It was unheard of. It was _un-Raven_.

"BB? I heard you call..." Cyborg appeared some distance behind him, typing into his arm. "Should we go? Why is the Gamestation...?"

Beast Boy wordlessly pointed to the sofa. Cyborg approached and his mouth literally fell open.

"_Raven?_ You're...you're..."

She didn't reply, but let forth a loud belch. She then proceeded to gulp down a can of soda, finishing the entire can in one breath. Beast Boy and Cyborg watched in disbelief as she crushed the can in one hand and tossed it behind her, over the sofa and onto the floor.

Cyborg peered at her cloak; it was orange. "I didn't know Raven had a...a _lazy_ side."

"She doesn't, I'm sure of it." Beast Boy was still trying to convince himself he wasn't dreaming.

"Can you guys shush," Raven muttered. "I'm trying to concentrate."

Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other, speechless. If this was a part of Raven's personality, she sure never used it. They watched as she drifted neatly around a sharp corner, passing two cars, and shot past the finish line, coming in first place.

"Man, I'm good," Raven grinned, and began a new race. She reached for another can from the twelve-pack beside her.

"Hey, that's MY soda!" Cyborg cried, snatching the can out of her hands. She ignored him and reached for another, but the half-robot seized the pack before she could grab one.

"I was drinking that," she said, annoyed.

"So was I!" retorted an equally-annoyed Cyborg.

"Focus, Cy!" Beast Boy flapped his arms impatiently, and then added, "Wow, never thought I'd say that."

Raven glared up at him. "I'd focus if you two would shut up." She then turned to Cyborg. "And give me back my soda!"

"It's _mine!"_

"Guys, seriously!" Beast Boy stood between them both, for once finding himself the mediator. Raven sniffed and turned away, continuing to play. Beast Boy shot a meaningful look at Cyborg, who put down his soda and joined the changeling on the sofa, Raven in the middle.

"Raven?" Cyborg asked tentatively.

"What now?" she groaned, eyes glued to the screen.

"We're looking for the pieces to the mirror...you know, the one you escaped from."

"That's nice."

Beast Boy tried to avert her eyes by waving in front of her face, but she ignored him. Instead, he said, "Well, do you have one?"

"Have what?"

"A piece of the mirror."

"Maybe."

Cyborg chuckled to himself. He couldn't help it. This was Raven alright, but definitely from another dimension. "Well," he said. "Assuming you do have a piece, how about I play you for it?"

Raven considered for a moment. Cyborg pointed to the soda, and she grinned at him. "You're on."

xxxx

Meanwhile, Starfire and Robin were taking the mission a lot more seriously.

"Eight pieces," Starfire was worrying. "How are we to find so many small shards of glass in such a small amount of time?"

"Raven didn't exactly give us a time limit, Star." He was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Starfire flying next to him. The red sky was rather ominous, but aside from that, the encroaching darkness was moving slowly, so they weren't too worried.

"Still, we must find them all before this 'Nevermore' takes over the city. We may not be able to reverse it." Starfire said, and then gasped. "What if we can't, and Raven never wakes up?"

"We'll find them, Star," Robin said warmly. "We won't fail."

"No, of course not," Starfire beamed, finding Robin's optimism catching. "Raven will be fine."

"That's the spirit," Robin smiled back. He jumped from the building's roof, onto a lower windowsill, and then landed neatly on the grass below, Starfire right behind him. They were on the edge of a park. "Right," he mused. "So, if you were Raven, where would you go?"

"Not just Raven; different sides of her. Maybe we can locate them in places that match their personality."

"Good idea, Star. So...er, there were eight more. Can you think of eight more sides of Raven?"

"Aside from the intelligent one, I suppose...serious? Sad?" Starfire put her finger to her chin, thinking. "But she is also compassionate and empathic."

Robin looked around, also thinking. "You're right, of course. I wouldn't know where to look for any of those, though...wait...do you hear that?"

The two Titans fell silent. There was a faint squeaking sound, as though something metallic needed to be oiled. "What is it?" Starfire whispered.

Robin silently pointed to the playground at the opposite corner of the park. In the dim light of the red sky, it was quite hard to see clearly, but it appeared that somebody was on the swing. _No one_ in their right mind would be outside playing during this time. After years of ridiculous crimes, the citizens of Jump City had learnt when it was time to stay indoors, and this was one of those times. Robin motioned for them to sneak up behind, from around the other side of the playground, and Starfire nodded. They both slunk off into the near-darkness.

xxxx

"I win again," said Raven, grinning in satisfaction, and let forth another, manly burp. Beast Boy and Cyborg burst into laughter at her behaviour, still unable to get used to this new, surreal Raven. Cyborg ignored the fact that he'd lost again by opening another can of soda, still chuckling.

"Where did you learn to get so good?" gasped Beast Boy, in awe. "You never play Gamestation. _Ever."_

"I always play it, nimrod," she passed him another can. "When you're all asleep."

"You do?" Beast Boy was incredulous. "Every night?"

"Of course not every night," she scoffed. "I have to sleep too." She scratched her head, and then her armpit. Cyborg burst into laughter once more.

"I love this Raven! I wanna hang out with her some more."

"Me too," Beast Boy grinned, holding out his fist. Raven pounded it with her own, simultaneously glugging soda.

"Oh wait," Cyborg stood up suddenly, popcorn falling off his lap. "We're supposed to be collecting mirror pieces or something," He looked at his arm, checking the time, and then turned to Raven. "Please, can we have yours?"

"I said you could have it if you beat me, and you never did."

"If I admit you're the greatest at this game, will you pass it over?"

"Maybe."

Cyborg couldn't help but laugh again. This Raven was really, truly likeable. "Raven, you're so totally awesome at this game that neither Beast Boy nor myself could ever hope to beat you."

She knew he was just being silly, but she pulled a small, jagged piece of glass out of her robe and handed it to Cyborg. "Thanks, _dude."_

The half-robot took the shard and motioned to Beast Boy. "Come on, man. We gotta find the others."

"Aw, I wanna play with Raven some more." Unintentionally, Beast Boy belched loudly, immediately followed by Raven. They slapped high fives.

"I don't think she's going anywhere, BB. Besides, in case you've forgotten, the real Raven is in a _coma."_

"Oh, right." Beast Boy was immediately serious. He'd completely forgotten the mission altogether, too shocked over this orange-robed Raven and her behaviour. It was great to be able to hang out with her, like a real friend.

"Nice to meet you, lazy Raven."

"Come back soon, BB. Bring more soda." Raven's eyes had re-glued themselves to the giant screen. Grinning at each other with mirth, Beast Boy and Cyborg headed back up to the roof, to return the first shard to the mirror.

xxxx

You've probably noticed the turn in plot-style; less action, more talking. I prefer writing action stories, but since this one is about the Titans meeting Raven's other sides, it's going to have a lot more chapters in this quiet, chatty style. Please note that the genre is Adventure _and_ Friendship. Please read and review!


	6. Rare Smiles

A/N: Sorry about the last chapter! I uploaded the wrong document. If you missed it, please go back and read Chapter 5. I love you for still reading! XD

xxxx

_Squeak. Squeak._ It was definitely the swing-set; the sound of the metal scraping against metal couldn't be mistaken. Robin could even hear the chains of the swing rattle. He and Starfire were hidden behind the miniature climbing wall on the playground, ready to ambush the intruder on the swing; sure that it was one of these so-called "Raven personalities."

Robin held up three fingers, and Starfire nodded. They counted down, and then pounced.

Their hands grabbed nothing but air. Robin stared at the now-empty swing seat, perplexed.

"BOO!" He and Starfire yelled in fright, and they turned around to see just what they'd expected...almost. It was Raven, but...could it be? She was wearing _pink._

Raven giggled. "I gotcha there, didn't I? And you think _you're_ sneaky." Instead of waiting for a reply, she returned to the swing and began swinging back and forth, slowly, still smiling.

"...Raven." It was all Robin could manage to spit out. Starfire, however, immediately took to the new Raven.

"You gave us such a scare, Raven." She said it as though it was a compliment, joining Raven on the adjacent swing. "Your new robe is...lovely."  
"It's not new, I've always had it." Raven replied happily, swinging slowly in time with Starfire.

"I didn't think you'd _ever_ be seen in pink," muttered Robin, half to himself. This made Raven laugh, a magical sound that pierced the gloomy city.

"It's my favourite colour, why wouldn't I wear it?"

"I...right." Logic told him that this wasn't Raven herself; only a small part. Still, it was so strange talking to her. She was smiling cheerfully up at him, eyes brimming with unbridled happiness. It confused him – he was so glad to see Raven happy, but simultaneously discontent at her strange behaviour.

Starfire seemed to take to this new Raven with generous affection. Before Robin's eyes, they chatted, laughed and then hugged. It was beyond comprehension. He tried to compose himself, and cleared his throat.

"Raven," he said. "We need to repair the mirror. One of...er, your friends told us that you have a piece."

The pink Raven scoffed, as if this was old news. "Psh, that old mirror doesn't need to be repaired."

"Yes, it does. Desperately."

"Since when is anyone desperate to fix a mirror?" Raven giggled to herself, as if she'd just made a joke.

"Raven, the Raven you are part of needs you back inside the mirror," Starfire soothed. "Or she will never wake up."

"You guys don't make any sense," Raven laughed. "You sound so silly."

"Raven," Robin squeezed his hands into fists. "We need to fix the mirror. Give us the piece we know you have."

"What, this old thing?" Raven pulled out a little shard of glass from her robe, holding it up to the sky. Starfire and Robin followed her gaze. There was no moon, no stars to reflect any light. Nothing but an ominous red sky.

"Yea, that." Robin quickly picked up on her disinterest. "Do you really need that piece of junk?"

"It _is_ rather boring," she agreed thoughtfully.

"Hand it over, we can take care of it."

"I don't think so," Raven wiggled her finger and winked. "If you really want it, you'll have to catch me."

"What...this isn't a game, Raven."

"It's about time it was," and with that she backflipped off of the swing and began running away, making childish noises. "Na-na na-na! Can't catch meee..." she called behind her.

Starfire, to Robin's surprise, also laughed and flew off after Raven, joining in the "game." Robin glowered after them, and decided to follow.

xxxx

"Cyborg has left without you."

"I know," Beast Boy replied, massaging his temples. The yellow-cloaked Raven kept pointing out the obvious. "I told him to."

"Why?"

"We'll get more done split up, you know, cover more ground."

Raven scowled at him, understanding immediately. "You were on the Gamestation that _whole time?"_

"Hey, she's really good!"

"That is _not _an excuse! We need this mirror fixed, now. I can't believe you would just abandon me...I mean, Raven, to play Gamestation with a slice of her personality."

The changeling caught the tightness in her voice, and stepped a little closer to her. He made sure to look her straight in the eye. "Are you...sad?"

"No," she snapped. "I don't get sad."

He withdrew, but couldn't drop it. "You're a part of Raven," he said. "A piece of her. That doesn't mean you can't feel sad."

"What would you know? You know nothing about me!" Raven gasped after her outburst, before turning away from him, as if embarrassed. "I mean, Raven. You don't know anything about her."

"Raven, you aren't someone different. You keep speaking in third person, but you really are Raven. _Our_ Raven." Beast Boy could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth. It didn't sound anything like he'd say.

Raven seemed to notice this as well, because she blushed. "You think so?"

"I know so," he grew braver, and stepped even closer. "You're not a different person, you're the same. I'm not going to treat you like you aren't the real Raven."

To his surprise, she chuckled, and pushed her glasses up her nose again. "I guess...for the intelligent one, I'm not being very smart Thanks, Beast Boy."

"Anytime, Rave."

"Don't call me that, please." Her tone switched from calm back to angry in an instant.

"Oh, er...sorry."

Raven put her hand on his shoulder, and looked seriously at him. "Please, Beast Boy. You must go now. You must find the pieces of the mirror, so Raven..." she paused, and then smiled a little. "I mean, so _I_ can wake up."

He grinned at her, gave her the thumbs up, and took a running leap off of the tower.

xxxx

"_Gotcha!"_

Robin, Starfire and Raven tumbled across the street, stopping as they came into contact with a row of trash cans, which in turn tipped their contents all over the Titans. From amid the mess of paper, bottles and vegetable peelings, Raven popped out like a Jack-in-a-box and burst into merry laughter.

"That was so fun! You guys really did get me, huh?" And with that, she dove back into the grimy mess and began making a garbage angel. Robin and Starfire looked at each other with both confusion and amusement. They'd chased Raven across the park and three blocks before they had managed to tackle her.

"Raven?" Starfire asked tentatively. "May we take the shard of the mirror, now that we have given you 'the tag'?"

"I guess you can have it, then. If you really want it." Raven tossed the little piece of glass, and Robin caught it easily. He smiled; the pink Raven's jubilant nature finally working its magic on him.

"Thanks, Raven."

"I guess that when you repair that old mirror, I'll be all dark and quiet again." She giggled to herself. "I can be such a bore, can't I?"

"You don't have to be," Starfire said. "You could be just the way you are now."

"Don't think so, Star. It doesn't work like that, y'know? It's okay though, I had fun!" Raven bounced onto an upturned trashcan and crouched there, grinning. "You guys are good sports. Guess I never knew until now."

"You called me Star!" Starfire felt strangely touched by this minor detail. But before she could say anything else, Robin's communicator beeped loudly. He instantly picked it up and opened it.

"What's up?"

It was Cyborg. "Me n' BB found a piece. We've split up now, since there's still seven to go."

"Make that six," Robin held up the shard.

"Great work, man. I was-"

"-hey there, metalhead!" Raven shoved her face between Robin and the communicator, poking her tongue out at the screen. To Robin's surprise, Cyborg didn't seem too shocked at this Raven's abnormal greeting.

"Oh, it's the 'happy Raven,'" Cyborg said, seriously. "Anyway, you guys should split up. We need to get this done faster. Raven - I mean, our one, the original one – she's looking even worse now. The yellow Raven says if we don't repair the mirror in time, this 'Nevermore' will take over the entire city and we'll never get our Raven back."

"I find this talk of all these Ravens to be extremely confusing," Starfire complained. Robin nodded, then answered,

"Right. Will do, Cyborg. Double the search. We can't...we _won't_ lose Raven." He ended the call, and gave the glass piece to Starfire. "Take this back to the Tower roof," he murmured. "Then keep searching."

"I will. Good luck, Robin."

"Good luck, Starfire."

The two Titans disappeared, saying a quick goodbye to the Raven dressed in pink, who was juggling rotten apples, quietly chuckling to herself.


	7. On the Bridge

A/N: To answer a few questions I got, and more I might get, I'd just like to explain a couple things:

First, the differently-coloured Ravens are not emotions, but different sides of Raven's personality, and Cyborg actually states this in the episode. This explains the orange or "lazy" Raven – as "lazy" is not an emotion, but a description of someone's behaviour, or personality.

Secondly, I want to express that I have taken into account the different sides of Raven and kept them within these different Ravens. For example, "lazy" Raven is not going to be a complete slob, because the real Raven would never be like that. The different Raven's are only slightly exaggerated versions of the one, true Raven.

Well, now that that is explained, off we go! ^_^

xxxx

After he ended his call with Robin, Cyborg began searching by the river, walking along the boardwalk and watching his scanner for readings. Naturally, it wasn't long before he found something.

Or more, something found _him._

"Oh, _no!"_ He immediately began running in the opposite direction. The giant, two-faced statue! He'd completely forgotten about it; why? How could anyone forget anything so hideous? As he ran, he could hear it rumbling along behind him. Cyborg took a deep breath, armed his cannon, and then turned.

It was ridiculously tall – three storeys at least. The statue had two faces and four arms, each of them holding a vicious-looking double-edged sword. The ghastly faces – one grinning, one anguished – had four eyes, _each_. It was definitely something that belonged in Raven's mind.

_BOOM!_ The sonic cannon blasted into its chest, but to Cyborg's horror, it hardly buckled.

"Argh!" Cyborg shouted, as he barely avoided one of the granite swords. It smashed into the boardwalk, shattering the wooden planks completely. The half-robot scrambled over the fragments and sped back past the huge statue, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"_Please_ tell me I don't have to steal a piece of the mirror from _that!"_ he cried to anyone who might be listening. Another sword crashed down behind him, turning the boardwalk into splinters. The force sent him tumbling forwards.

Cyborg barely managed to get up in time before the swords came back down in succession. _Thud-thud-thud-thud!_ This time, the last sword snapped the very board Cyborg was standing on – and, working like a see-saw, it hurled him into the air. "Ayeee-ugh!" he cried, slapping into the wall of a waterfront hotel.

He slid down the plaster and landed heavily on the pavement, groaning. Robin or Raven were far better suited to fight enemies like this; he was getting his butt handed to him! Should he call Robin now, or would the leader be busy handling the other monsters that dwelled in this nightmare world?

Cyborg ducked just in time as a sword slashed right through the hotel wall where he stood, causing half of the lobby to collapse. He'd have to think fast, whatever he did.

"Okay, Cyborg," he muttered as he ran. "How did you beat it last time?"

"You didn't, silly."

Cyborg nearly jumped out of his circuits. Beside him, keeping pace was someone very familiar...

"R-Raven!" he gasped. "You...what..."

"De-ja-vu," she laughed heartily, ripping him out of his shock.

"No kidding," he shot back. "So go slice it already."

"Heck, no!" she was still laughing. What on earth was funny about being chased by a gigantic statue with four swords?

"Wh...why!"

"That's old. There's no fun in doing it the same way twice."

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm running for my_ life!_ This isn't _supposed_ to be fun!" They'd reached the bridge – it was devoid of traffic. Cyborg screeched around the railing and began sprinting along the middle of the bridge, the new Raven keeping up with him easily. She was clad in a dark green robe this time, and was sporting a smug smile, which irritated him. "Wh-what's so funny?" he puffed, the huge amount of soda he'd consumed now coming back to haunt him.

"Nothing! It's just such a rush, ya know?"

"A...a rush?"

"Yea, like...adrenalin, ya know? The running, the chasing..."

"The giant, bloodthirsty monster with eight glowing eyes," Cyborg continued sarcastically, looking ahead.

"Exactly!" Raven replied, grinning. She'd obviously not picked up on his sarcasm. Cyborg rolled his eyes and saw the centre of the bridge was nearing; he hoped his plan would work. He looked back to the green Raven, sprinting next to him with her big smirk. If he hadn't already met this Raven before, he'd probably still be in shock. She was so eager, so intense...and so optimistic, a trait that he was sure the real Raven had never had.

They'd reached the centre of the bridge. "Raven," Cyborg shouted over the grinding of the monolith close behind them. "Throw the switch!"

She saluted. "You got it, pal!" She then stopped, turned around and flung out one arm in a most epic "stop" gesture towards the statue monster. Immediately, the mechanics of the bridge began churning and clunking. The ground beneath them began to rise.

Cyborg and Raven slowly backed down the bridge, away from the centre, facing their pursuer. The monster was nearing faster than the bridge was rising. "It's not going to work!" Cyborg groaned. Raven crouched into a fighting stance, and Cyborg had to follow suit as the slanting bridge was now too steep to balance on.

CRASH-CRASH! Two swords smashed into the solid concrete and anchored themselves there. The monster's grinning face appeared over the edge of the rising bridge – it was going to climb over the widening gap. However, both halves of the bridge had risen above halfway now, and the plane was so incredibly steep that even the statue couldn't manoeuvre itself over the edge. The bridge began scraping across its body as it was slung across both edges.

TSING! BOOM! Raven and Cyborg sliced through the swords that had been anchored to their side. With nothing left to hold onto, the horrific statue groaned a mournful sound and plunged headfirst into the water far, far below.

"WOOHOO! Gotcha again, eight-eyes! Who's your daddy?" Raven cried out, shaking her fist in the air and grinning down at the drowning statue.

"Raven, the bridge!" Cyborg was now gripping the edge of the bridge, about to fall down the incredibly steep slope.

"Heh heh, alrighty!" As soon as she said it, the bridge began to lower itself once more.

When the bridge was completely flat, Cyborg stood up and dusted himself off. Raven was jumping up and down, practically dancing, with an eager look on her face.

"You know what this calls for?" she asked, hoping to sound mysterious. Cyborg looked quizzically at her and shook his head. Immediately, she held up both of her hands and shouted "DOUBLE HIGH-FIVES, BABY!"

Cyborg couldn't help but be slung in by her incredible optimism. He slapped her hands with his own and grinned back at her. "Nice work on the bridge, there."

"It was your idea, bro." Then she put one hand to her chin, thinking. "It was rather predictable, though. Lucky eight-eyes is such a stupid git."

"Hey!"

"It's the harsh truth, my friend."

Cyborg couldn't tell which was the stronger feeling – confusion or happiness. This Raven was so abnormal, so polar-opposite to who he though he knew, that he couldn't get used to the idea that she really was a part of the real Raven. However, the way her optimism was catching and the way she smiled and behaved...it really lifted him up. It was like Starfire, almost - the way she spread her good mood and yet still managed to kick butt.

"What?" She was looking at him with a confused expression.

"Oh I er...I was just thinking. You're so..."

"...different?"

Her promptness surprised him. "Yea," he said.

"Like I said before, bro," she smirked at him again. "There's no fun in staying the same."

"But you're...I mean, I don't see any of Raven in you."

"I _am _Raven."

"Well then, you sure don't act like her."

"Maybe you just don't know me well enough to see it."

Yet again, her reply surprised him. It also made him smile back at her; he couldn't help it. She was so likeable, just like the orange Raven he'd met in the Tower. "You're right," he said. "I promise, when we've fixed your mirror, I'm going to hang out with you more. You know, more than just when we're fighting crime. We're friends but...I hardly even know you."

Raven looked at him thoughtfully. "You know," she said. "I'd like that." Before Cyborg could say any more, she reached into her cloak and pulled out a small, jagged piece of glass.

"That's..." Cyborg whispered. She already knew he wanted it?

"It's kind of embarrassing to say this, Cyborg..." Raven murmured, barely managing to hide her smug smile. "But I've always admired your steadfastness. You're a really great guy, ya know?"

It completely blew him out of the water. He staggered, eyes wide, shocked at her outburst.

She laughed at him. "You're also just as weird as BB," she said, and held out the shard. "Do you want it, or not?"

"I...I...yes, thanks." Cyborg took the piece of glass and tried to compose himself. "I mean, yea...thanks Raven. You're really great too."

"Hopeless," she shook her head. "Come on; let's go find more monsters to beat up!"

He couldn't help but laugh right back at her. "Once I give this to one of your friends, sure. Why not?"

They slapped another high five and began towards the Tower once more.


	8. Best Friends

A/N: I just wanna repeat myself and say thank-you to all who have reviewed this story. It's you who keep me going! Also, beware this chapter is a tad longer and...deeper. This relationship touches me the most out of all of them. Remember, there is no intended romance!

xxxx

Robin heard them before he saw them, and it was just as well. If he hadn't ducked in time, the little monsters would have ripped his head clean off his shoulders.

He stood back and stared at them. They looked like crows, almost, except for the glowing, red eyes. There were at least ten of them, now all perching on the awning above the cafe in front of him.

He was in the northwest part of the city; a shady district full of illegal dealers, runaways and fast cars. It was here that Raven's favourite cafe was located, but as soon as he had neared it, he'd been attacked by these...these creatures.

Robin held a birdarang in each hand, ready to fend them off if they attacked again. But they just perched there, on the awning, as if waiting for something. Or perhaps they were guarding the cafe. Whatever the reason was didn't matter – he needed to get inside. It was closed of course, but he knew that locked doors wouldn't stop Raven. He just had to get past the strange birds.

It was obvious that they were a figment of Nevermore, the encroaching darkness that was swallowing the city. They looked like they could even be Raven's pets; he wouldn't put it past her to get vicious guard-birds. However, Robin wondered if he had to hurt the birds, would it count as hurting Raven? Weren't the pink Raven and the yellow Raven figments, too? What happened if they were hurt, out here in the real world?

"_Turn back."_ The sound shook him awake. It sounded beautiful, like an angel's voice. He looked around, holding his birdarangs in front of him.

"Who's there?" he called out.

"_Turn back." _There it was again, the musical voice. Robin wasn't stupid, he knew it meant trouble. He turned back to the birds to watch his reflection in the cafe doors' glass, in case someone was sneaking up on him. Then he heard it once more,

"_Turn back,"_ the birds chimed softly, gently. It was easy to fall into the beauty of their voices, and so Robin backed away from the cafe. Talking birds...of course. What next?

"Sorry, birdies," Robin muttered. "I'm going in." In one leap, he cleared the distance between himself and the entrance to the cafe. Quickly, he sliced a birdarang down the centre of the doors, breaking the lock easily. However, before he even pulled the birdarang back out, the birds were upon him.

They were _everywhere!_ It seemed that hundreds of the things had suddenly spawned around him, attacking him with their talons and flapping their wings loudly, stealing away any sense of direction. "WARK! WARK! WARK!" they screeched, the angelic voices gone. Robin covered his face with one arm and attempted to bat them away.

They just kept coming at him. He couldn't see anything! Robin blindly reached into his belt and grabbed a small pellet, before throwing it straight into the pavement.

_Boom-psshhh_... Smoke exploded out of the pellet rapidly, clouding the cafe's entrance in its thick smog. The birds let up on him slightly, dazed from the dark vapour, and Robin used the opportunity to slip into the unlocked cafe and bar the door behind him.

Once he was inside, the birds attacked the glass, but couldn't manage to even land a scratch on the perfectly flat surface. Enraged, they glared at him with their ominous, red eyes and flew off as a flock. They were finally gone. Robin leant his back upon the closed door and slid to the ground, breathing fast. "No offence, Raven," he gasped. "But you have really bad taste in pets."

"Sorry. They aren't really pets...but sorry." The voice came from someone who had simply appeared beside him, and Robin jumped sideways in fright, landing awkwardly back onto his backside. It was Raven...again.

"Stop...please stop doing that," he groaned.

"Sorry," she whispered again. "I didn't mean to scare you, sorry..."

"Stop saying sorry, Raven," he pleaded.

"Oh, sorry."

He looked at her with hard eyes, and she shut her mouth. _This_ Raven was clad in a grey cloak, and was twiddling her thumbs nervously. Her eyes were searching his own for something; as if she were scared he would disapprove of something else she did. He quickly put two-and-two together.

"I was wondering if I'd meet you," he said thoughtfully, almost to himself.

"We've already met, haven't we?" she whispered back to him. "I mean, we're on the same team and...and we're..." she couldn't finish for some reason. She only looked away, eyes cast downwards.

"I meant this _side_ of you, Raven."

"Oh..." She then closed her mouth tightly and hugged her knees.

"You know why I'm here?"

She nodded, and silently pulled a small piece of glass from her cloak, before slipping it back inside. Robin bit his lip, trying to be patient. He spoke again, the sound seeming ugly in the quietness of the empty, dark cafe.

"Raven, I need to fix the mirror. It's very important."

She still wouldn't answer him, eyes glued to the checkerboard floor.

"Raven, I – we – need to help...er, you." The sentence made no sense, but they both understood. Raven looked at him, eyes now wide and watery.

"Why? Why do you need to help me? I'm okay...there's nothing wrong with me..."

"Of course there's nothing wrong with you, Raven," Robin sighed, trying to hide his frustration. He wasn't in the mood for a quiet conversation; he needed to help the real Raven as fast as possible. But this Raven was extra fragile – in fact, she was almost a complete opposite from the pink one he'd just met before.

"Then why do I need help?"

"Your mirror...it's broken. We need to fix it before the whole city is eaten by this 'Nevermore' world. And you – you're sick. I mean...the other you." Nothing but meaningless trash was spilling out of his mouth, and he hated it. It wasn't going to cheer Raven up, and it was making him sound selfish. He changed tactics and moved closer to her, making her shuffle backwards nervously.

"So there_ is_ something wrong with me?" She looked about to cry, and it absolutely killed him inside to see her so hurt.

"Not in the way you think," he murmured, moving closer still, until they were sitting side-by-side, shoulders almost touching. "It's kind of hard to explain, I guess." The proximity seemed to make her incredibly nervous, but she didn't move; still hugging her knees tightly and staring at the floor.

There were still tears in her eyes, but she was holding her face bravely, as if he wouldn't notice. Something about the pain in her expression tugged at his heart, and he decided to ignore the crisis at hand until he'd made her feel better. "Raven," he said softly. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing. I'm okay. Sorry for making you think-"

"Raven," he repeated. "What's wrong?"

"I...I..." she looked into his honest eyes, and gave in. "I'm...lonely."

Even though he was glad she'd answered, Robin was surprised that she had. This Raven was obviously the shyer one, the most sensitive. He hadn't expected her to be so upset that she'd actually talk to him. He continued to look into her dark eyes, showing her his sincerity.

"You're lonely?"

"Y-yes."

"Why do you feel lonely, when you have four other loyal friends who will stay with you through anything?"

"I...do? Who?" Her reply surprised him even more than her first did. He stared at her, incredulous.

"The Titans!" he said. "Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and I. We're your best friends."

She merely looked back to the tiled floor. "Oh, yea."

"You don't think we are?"

"N-no, I mean...you are...but you-I mean...sorry..." Raven screwed her eyes shut, hoping to make her little tears vanish.

"Don't be sorry, Raven," he whispered. "Say what you think. Please?"

"It's just that, you all think I'm creepy!" she suddenly blurted. "I know you do. You all think I'm weird...too quiet and too dark. I just...I just don't fit in..." This time, the last word was a strangled sob, and she buried her face in her hands. Robin felt his heart shudder to see her like this, and slowly, nervously, put his arm around her shoulders.

She didn't shrug him off. He pulled her close and rested her head on his shoulder. "How long have you felt like this?" he whispered softly.

"Always..." she sobbed. "I just...I just ignore it. Oh, sorry, I'm getting your cape wet..."

"Raven," this time his voice was harder. "We don't think you're creepy, not at all. Sure, you're a little different, but who isn't? We all know you're a caring, loyal friend, and you're part of the team. You matter so much more than you think you do." He awkwardly wiped the corner of one of her eyes, feeling a little silly, but knowing it mattered. "Raven," he continued. "We're your friends, and we...we _love_ you."

"You...love me?" she choked.

He squeezed her even tighter. "That's what best buddies do, Raven. That's why we're trying to fix the mirror. Raven - the full, true Raven - she, no..._you_ might die if we don't."

Raven gently pressed the tiny shard of glass into his free palm, at the same time wiping her eyes and lifting her head. "Sorry..." she whispered.

"Don't be sorry. I'm the one who should apologize." Robin suddenly felt terrible. "You've been feeling like this for so long...and we never realised. I'm sorry Raven, for letting you think you didn't matter."

Finally, like the sun appearing after a storm, a tiny smile appeared on her tear-stained face. "Thank you," she murmured.

"It's okay Raven, we're best friends. It's what we do."

"About the mirror..." she said, still wiping her face, embarrassed. "There's something you have to know..."


	9. Closed Reading

A/N: Yet again, thanks so much to all who have reviewed! Here's the new chapter for yah. More cuteness! You may interpret how you wish. Also, **Merry Christmas**, !

xxxx

"Are you telling me," Robin said slowly. "That the mirror is...is a _black hole?"_

"Well, when you put it like that, it seems a little over the top..." The grey Raven whispered back. She inched away from him, as if afraid of his reaction. They were still sitting side-by-side at the door of the cafe.

"It's going to suck the city – and then the rest of the world – into nothingness. That sounds like a black hole to me."

She backed away even further. "Well, Nevermore will eventually replace the world. So it's not all bad..."

"Raven, it _is_ bad! If we don't fix that mirror of yours in time, everyone...you, me, the Titans...everyone in the world...they're going to _die."_

"You won't die!" Raven blurted. "You'll be sucked into an alternate dimension of utter emptiness."

Robin grimaced at her. "That makes death sound a lot nicer."

"Sorry..."

"Raven," Robin sighed. "What did I tell you about saying sorry all the time? You haven't done anything wrong."

"I'm so-I mean...okay." She began twiddling her thumbs again.

"So, do you know how long we have?"

"Not really, but another side of me might know."

Robin punched his fist into his other hand. "Of course! The yellow version of you. She's the intelligent one. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Umm...well..." Raven was shuffling her feet nervously. "I know where another piece is. Of the mirror, I mean."

"Excellent." Robin stood up instantly and tightened his belt. Raven sighed, but before she could begin to get up, two gloved hands appeared in front of her face. Robin was reaching down to help her up.

"Oh...thank you..." she said shyly, and took his hands. Once up, she indicated to the rear of the cafe and began walking. Robin followed her, clutching the small piece of glass in his left hand.

xxxx

Beast Boy was still turning the past over and over in his head. Should he have done this? Should he have said that? Maybe he should have...it might have gone differently. Raven wouldn't be in trouble; Raven would be okay.

The yellow Raven's words had got him thinking. If _she_ felt so terrible about the mirror and Nevermore, did the others? Did the one, true Raven? Did she feel bad all the time? Maybe she was hiding all her pain, not wanting them to know...afraid to ask for help. Beast Boy cursed himself for being such a bad friend – she should be able to trust him enough to ask for help, and she didn't...maybe she really did still think he hated her.

He was in the library. It was closed, of course, but sneaking into such a low-security facility was a cinch for a shapeshifter. Raven liked books, so maybe he could find one of her personalities here. Perhaps she had a "boring" side, or a "quiet" side...did they count as personalities? He didn't know, but was sure that this was a good place to look.

Beast Boy stopped by the tall, lancet-shaped window that overlooked the main street, and peered through it. The city was bathed in the red glow of the sky, with a river of what looked like living shadows creeping ever so slowly across the ground, eating away at the city like a giant, demonic monster. The Titans were almost used to the idea of the city being "swallowed" by something or other, but it wasn't usually something that came from one of their _own minds._

"I'll save you Raven," he said. "I promise. I'll fix that mirror and I'll get you back."

He suddenly heard a thud from behind him, and whirled around, tiger claws popping out of his fingers. No one was there, but he heard someone breathing. In an instant, he transformed into a terrier and crept underneath a bookshelf, sniffing. However, he didn't need to. The intruder began to chuckle.

"Aww, you're kind of cute when you're all fluffy like that."

It was Raven's voice, but it _couldn't_ be her speaking. "YIKE-OW!" Beast Boy was so shocked that he transformed back into himself while he was still under the bookshelf, causing himself to be squashed. The quiet laughter came again. It was a lovely sound; made more beautiful by the fact that it was very rarely heard.

Beast Boy squeezed himself out from under the bookshelf with a small _pop_ and sat on the carpet, rubbing his head. "Oww..." he groaned. The person who had laughed squatted beside him and joined in, petting his hair like a little kid. He looked to her, and grinned.

"I knew I'd find you here!"

Raven, this time, was wearing a deep violet cloak, but she'd swept it around her shoulders like a large, floppy scarf instead of letting it drape down her body. It made her look taller, and a little older. Raven was never really into fashion very much, and always wore her cloak the same way, so Beast Boy couldn't help but admire the way this Raven looked. She smiled back at him, neglecting to show her teeth like he did. "I wasn't actually here, but I heard you creeping around," she said.

"Wait, what?"

"I was over there," Raven pointed to her left. "In the children's section."

"Oh okay," Beast Boy blinked, and then understood what she'd said. "Wait, the _children's section?"_

"Yes, is that bad?"

"No," Beast Boy stood up, Raven following suit. "It's just that...you never read books with pictures. Do you read children's books every time you come here?"

She smiled, eyes glowing with silent laughter. "No. I've only begun to read in that section quite recently. Hey, would you like to come?" To his immense surprise, she took his hand. She began to walk off, and he barely noticed the tugging, completely dumbfounded at this small, yet extremely uncharacteristic gesture. In fact, he stared at their connected hands until they'd reached the kids' corner.

She turned to him. "Are you okay, Beast Boy?"

"Y-yea, I...I mean...it's just that I thought...I thought you hated touching people and stuff."

"That's not true," she replied. "I guess it's just that I'm too shy."

"Oh...right." Beast Boy thought back to the day he'd met Raven's shyer side – she'd been strange too, but somehow sadder. He watched as the purple Raven flopped down onto a huge cushion, snuggling into the hole she created. She then proceeded to pat the space beside her, inviting him to sit down beside her. He complied, but slowly, fighting an instinct that told him she'd punch him or something if he sat anywhere near her.

"Raven," he began, but had to stop as she picked up a tall picture book, titled _"Animals: A-Z" _and sat it on her lap. She opened the book to the first page, and smiled at him before beginning.

"A is for ant," she read. "Small but strong."

It was like he was sitting with a big sister, reading the kids' picture book together. It was probably the only time Beast Boy had ever felt truly comfortable with Raven. Ignoring the crisis at hand and the worries he'd been stressing over, he read along with the purple Raven.

"G is for gorilla. King of the Jungle."

"H is for hedgehog. Watch out for spikes!"

"I is for iguana. Slippery little thing."

Ten minutes, twenty minutes...the time just flew. Beast Boy found himself laughing along with Raven, not even worrying over why or how. He was just so glad to finally be accepted by her. After they'd been through three picture books, however, Raven was the one who finally called him to attention.

"Are you going to ask for the shard?" she asked casually, reaching for a fourth book.

He blinked. "Oh! I...I totally forgot...sorry, I...I mean, yea...can I have it?" he finished lamely.

"Of course you can, Beast Boy." She handed a small piece of glass to him. He took it and stowed it in a pouch on his belt. Raven continued, "You seem nervous."

"Sorry I...it's just that you...you're not...er, normal. I mean, you're acting strange...er, I mean...argh!" Beast Boy dropped his head into his hands and moaned softly. Idiot! Why couldn't he speak properly! If Raven was going to be nice to him, he should be just as nice back, instead of acting like a total idiot.

"Don't be angry at yourself, Beast Boy," Raven put the book down and sat a little closer to the changeling. "I know you find it strange how I am behaving. However, even though I normally behave so differently, this is what I truly feel. I do want to be your friend, Beast Boy, and I do care about you."

Beast Boy shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I swear, you're the strangest Raven I've ever met. Even more than the happy one."

"You don't believe me?"

"No, I do...kind of. It's just so hard, because you're always...you know..." Beast Boy trailed off, wondering if he'd offend her.

"We are friends, are we not?"

"Yea...we're best friends."

"Well, this is what best friends do, Beast Boy." And with that, she opened her arms and pulled him close, into a tight, warm hug.

The earth stopped spinning...and turned backwards. Beast Boy held his breath, utterly shocked. A hug. Raven was giving him a hug. Raven never hugged. _Never._

Nevertheless, Beast Boy felt extremely happy. He finally felt accepted by her, like he mattered to her. She didn't hate him, and she knew he didn't hate her. She just found it hard to express what she felt...probably because she feared her powers. He slowly wrapped his own arms around her and hugged her back, the world suddenly a lighter a place.

They broke apart, and she smiled sincerely at him. "See?" she said. "Friends."

"You're the nice Raven," Beast Boy commented, smiling back. "I wondered if there was going to be one."

"I am nice, Beast Boy, but I cannot express everything I feel. You know that. Since I am split apart right now, my powers will not manifest if I feel emotion."

"So when you're back to normal, you're going to be mean to me again?"

"Well, maybe just a little bit nicer," she teased. "But you had better go, now. Get that piece back to the mirror."

"Okay. Thanks, Raven...for...y'know..." Beast Boy was standing now, but didn't want to leave. He'd finally met a compassionate Raven, and now he had to bring the real Raven back. Was she going to be as nice as this one? She waved to him, and he waved back, beginning to walk off.

"Oh, Beast Boy?"

He turned instantly, almost tripping over himself. "Yea?"

"Don't tell the others. You know, that I hugged you. Please?"

He laughed. "Sure Raven, but don't expect me to forget it."

xxxx

A/N: Okay, I apologise. I couldn't think of a good way to write in the compassionate Raven without having the cuteness a little over-the-top. Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter up soon...


	10. The Importance of Being Earnest

A/N: While trying to edit the invisible time-skips that FF deleted (rawr!), I accidentally deleted this chapter, and...well unfortunately, I don't have a back up. I rewrote it as best I could from memory. I really do apologise for this.

xxxx

Starfire wasn't surprised to spot the cloaked figure upon the skyscraper. It could only be one person. Flying through the cool air at this altitude, the Tamaranean had been expecting Raven to find a spot high up to hide. Raven called it meditating, but Cyborg called it 'moping.' As she neared the unmistakeable silhouette, she could see Raven's hood was up and her sky-blue cloak was billowing out over the edge of the roof, as if trying to pull her off. Raven was sitting cross-legged right on the edge, just as she did at Titans Tower.

Starfire landed silently on the rooftop, her boots lightly skidding against the cement. "Raven?"

There was no answer, so Starfire took a couple steps closer to the sitting figure and ventured again, "Raven? Hello, it is I, Starfire."

Still, Ravin said nothing. Starfire took a deep breath and sat down next to the darker Titan. "Raven? Are you okay?"

"Yes."

There was no emotion in the answer. Starfire couldn't even tell from Raven's face, as it was hidden in the shadow of her light-blue hood. Hoping to get down to business, Starfire hugged her knees and said in a cheerful voice, "Raven, I'm looking for one of the pieces of your mirror. Do you have one?"

"Yes."

Once again, Starfire was surprised at the deadness of Raven's voice. The dark girl sounded somewhat like a robot. "Can I...have it, please?" Starfire's voice wavered a little, showing her anxiety.

"No."

Raven still hadn't moved an inch, and her voice did not change. Starfire bit her lip and wondered what she should do. She wanted to respect Raven's boundaries, but was desperate to help her friend somehow. She tried a different approach.

"Why are you up here, Raven?"

"I like the view." The reply was instantaneous and lifeless.

Starfire, however, was elated that the reply wasn't a one-word answer. "I love the view too!" she cried. "It's so beautiful up here. You can see the whole city, and over in the distance you can see our wonderful home, and beyond, the sparkling ocean. So many people don't even realise the beauty that this city beholds. You and I are so lucky to have the gift of flight...to be able to see the beauty whenever we wish."

"Its...just a view." This time, the reply was a little late, and Starfire could detect the slightest hint of embarrassment in Raven's tone.

"But such a wonderful one!" Starfire raised her hands and spread out her fingers, as if trying to embrace the beauty she was rambling about. "There is so much beauty around us, and it is one of the reasons why I love this planet so very much. Every day is different, and everywhere I look, I see such wonders. Don't you think?"

"I guess."

Starfire turned to face her friend. "One of these wonderful things is you Raven. You are one of my best friends, and I adore everything about you. I am glad you are able to appreciate beauty, not just in nature, but in people too. You have a lovely gift with understanding how people feel. I think that is so great about you, Raven."

Raven didn't answer, but lowered her head, which allowed the wind to slide over it and sweep off her hood, which began billowing against her cheek. Starfire saw, to her great surprise, a definite blush on Raven's nigh-unreadable face. The Tamaranian smiled to herself.

"I suppose I should say things like this more often, friend Raven," she continued. "You should be told every day how wonderful you are."

"I forgot..." Raven whispered. "I forgot how important emotions were to you, Starfire."

"They're important to _everyone_," Starfire corrected. "Emotions are everything to me. When I am happy, my friends are happy. When I am sad, my friends will try to make me feel better. Emotions are what connects us all, as people. Without emotions, we would not even be friends, and that would be awful!"

"I can't." Raven lowered her head even more. "Emotions are potentially lethal to me. I can't afford to feel. Ever."

"I don't believe you! Just a couple hours ago you were laughing and playing with me and Robin, feeling most happy and joyful! Nothing bad happened at all."

"I've been seperated. My powers have been diminished - divided amongst all of my other selves. My powers won't do much while I am like this."

"Then why do you still avoid looking at me? Why are you still afraid of emotions?"

"I...I don't know."

Starfire put her hand on Raven's shoulder, causing the dark girl to turn her head and finally look into the Tamaranean's eyes. "Are you afraid of them?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Well," Starfire said cheerfully. "Maybe we can meet each other halfway. I will help you to express your emotions more, and you can teach me how to help you if it goes out of control. That way, you will be just fine."

Raven blushed again, and murmured, "Thanks, Star..."

"You called me Star!" Starfire hugged Raven happily, then broke the embrace instantly, as if remembering who she was hugging. "That makes me so happy!"

"Star?"

"Yes, friend Raven?"

Raven pulled out a tiny piece of glass from her hood and showed it in the palm of her hand. "Why do you _really_ want this?"

Starfire's eyes glowed in pleasure at the sight of the shard. "Because Raven - the one, true, full Raven - is in trouble. She is hurt, and the only way I can help her is by gathering the pieces to her broken mirror. I must help her. I must find all of the pieces and repair the mirror." She reached for the the shard, but Raven pulled it back and said,

"But you don't know what will happen when the mirror is repaired. You might make things worse. Nevermore could be twice as powerful, and wipe out the world twice as fast. Terrible, awful things might happen. You don't know it will fix me...her."

Starfire stood up and clenched her fists. "That is a risk I am willing to take! Raven, you are my best friend, and I would do anything for you! I would gladly give up my life if it were to help you somehow. I promised you that I'd help, and here I am, doing my best. With that shard, I could save you!"

Raven stood up with her, but her face looked shellshocked. Her eyes were wide in disbelief. "You would...die? For me?"

"I love you Raven," Starfire put both hands on her friend's shoulders. "The most important emotion of all is love, and that is what makes us friends. That is what makes me want to do this for you. All of us; Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg and myself...we all love you Raven, and we all want to help you."

"I...I don't deserve friends like you, Star." Raven looked to the ground and held out the shard reluctantly.

"Don't say things like that, Raven." Starfire took the shard and placed her own hand in Raven's open palm. "I wouldn't give you up as my friend for _anything_."

There was a long silence, in which Raven's cloak and Starfire's long hair billowed in the wind, The two girls stared into each other's eyes.

Finally, Raven's face warmed, and she made a small smile at Starfire. "Be...be careful," she whispered.

"Don't worry, Raven. I will fix you, I promise!" Starfire squeezed Raven's hand, and then flew off the roof, diving down through space and began speeding back towards Titans Tower.

xxxx

I am well-aware that there was never a "sky-blue" cloaked Raven, but when I broke Raven herself down into different personalities, I knew that one of the mini-Ravens had to be her apathetic side. Probably the one we see most often in the series. 3 Please review!


	11. The Crumbling Church

"Wow, looks like only a couple to go!" Beast Boy exclaimed, peering intently into the small, handheld mirror. He was standing once more on the roof of Titans Tower, along with Starfire, Cyborg, the yellow Raven, the green Raven and the original Raven, still comatose in mid-air.

The yellow Raven pulled it away from him and stroked the glass; each shard merging once more into a full pane of glass. "Actually," she said, frowning. "There are still three more pieces missing."

"Where are they, then?"

"Don't ask stupid questions. If I knew where they were, I'd tell you."

"Hey, no need to get touchy again. I was only-"

"Friends, please!" Starfire stood between the changeling and Raven. "Do not argue. This will not help us find the remaining pieces."

"I've searched everywhere!" Cyborg sighed angrily. "We've been doing this for hours, and we still have three pieces to go."

"And we've looked through all the places Raven likes to go," added Beast Boy. "Where else can we look?"

"I suggest scouring the city again," Raven commented drily. "Thoroughly."

"Are you insitchuating that we didn't look hard enough?" Beast Boy was adamant.

He was met with a frustrated sigh. Raven scowled at him and said, "The word is pronounced 'insinuating,' and I am only saying that if you haven't found all of the pieces, there must be places you haven't looked."

"Why you-"

"Beast Boy! Raven! No more mean-talking!" Starfire put a hand upon both of her friends' shoulders. "We will go and search again. We must! Robin is confident that once all of the pieces are found, this wrong can be righted."

"Speaking of Robin," said Cyborg. "Where _is_ he?"

At that very moment, everyone's communicator beeped. Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg picked turned on their little gadgets to see Robin on the other end.

"Speak of the devil," breathed Cyborg, smiling.

"What's up, dude? _Please_ tell me you found three pieces."

"I have one," Robin replied. "And I have a lead on where another could be. Are you all at the Tower?"

"Yes," everyone answered in unison.

"Stay there," he ordered. "And make sure Raven is safe."

"Robin? Is there something wrong?" Starfire whispered, noticing the hardness in his voice.

"Everything's fine, Star. How many pieces have been restored?"

"Only six, man. We've got a few more Ravens roosting here too."

"How many?"

"Aside from the real Raven, there's three up here, and two below in the living room, playing video games."

"Playing video...? Er, right." Robin composed himself. "Well, make sure they're all near. Wait, where's the last one?"

Beast Boy piped up. "She's at the library. I could bring her here, I guess. She was really nice..."

"Do that, Beast Boy. Look, I'm going to find another piece, but make sure you all stay there, okay Titans? I'll keep you updated. Robin out."

After a long pause, Beast Boy pocketed his communicator. "Is there something he's not telling us?"

"Whatever it is, Beast Boy, we must trust him." Starfire twiddled her thumbs nervously, also worried.

xxxx

Robin stowed his communicator away, hoping they would have enough time. "Come on; let's see if you're right," he said to the grey Raven hovering beside him.

Robin hugged the wall as he stepped lightly along a buttress. He was outside one of the highest floors of the ancient gothic church in the northeast district. It had been built only a century ago, but the architects had wanted to preserve the culture of the gothic buildings in northern Europe. Now that he thought about it, this church was definitely a place he could imagine Raven visiting. He'd never seen her come here, but it wasn't like he kept tabs on her 24/7.

The shy Raven in the grey cloak had told him that another 'personality' was hiding here, which meant another precious piece for the shattered mirror. Now that she had begun to trust him fully, she clung to him like a little lost girl, hovering right next to him, even as he climbed up the precarious wall of the church. He hadn't been able to enter through the door as most of the bottom floors had collapsed years ago.

Robin leapt from the buttress and grabbed onto a jutting gargoyle. He swung back and forth from it until he gathered enough momentum to fly from the gargoyle to the main balcony of the church, which faced south. He climbed from the edge and stepped silently onto the stone floor. Raven stood behind him, as if scared of what lay beyond the door to the balcony. She whispered so quietly he could barely hear, "In there. I'm...she's...I mean, Raven is in there..."

Robin walked bravely into the darkness of the church, and Raven shyly grabbed a handful of his cape and followed. To her shock, he suddenly bellowed, "Raven? Raven! If you're there, then come out!"

"Shh!" Raven gasped, putting a hand over his mouth. "She might here you!"

"That's the general idea," he replied, gently pulling her hand away. "If you want, you can go wait out there." He pointed to the barely-lit balcony behind them, surrounded by ugly, stone gargoyles with long claws and evil eyes.

"No, I'll stay," she croaked, grasping his cape even tighter.

"Well, then..." Robin took a deep breath. "Raven! Raven! Come out, I need to talk, now!"

"I don't like this place," the grey Raven whined. "I can smell someone else...someone bad..."

"Raven, I told you already...if you don't want to be here, then go outside."

"It's just so dark. Do you have a flashlight?"

Before he could even answer, Raven began pulling gadgets off of his belt, looking desperately for something that might emit light. "Hey, Raven, stop!" He pulled her hands away. "Those are dangerous, you know that!"

"Okay..." she whispered, looking admonished. "Sor-I mean, it's just so dark." She opened her hands and dropped what she had been holding. It hit the floor with a metallic _ping_ and began rolling away.

"Oh, no!" Robin grabbed Raven and leapt back towards the balcony. "Take cover!"

BOOM! The floor exploded. The rubble from the floor ricocheted across the room and into the walls, causing the even the thicker stone to crack. The mortar couldn't hold, and the walls began to crumble. Robin scrambled to his feet and picked up a dazed Raven, before taking a fantastic leap right off of the balcony, which fell to pieces as his feet left its surface.

As they fell, Robin looked frantically for something to anchor them, but there was nothing. The church was the only tall building on the block, and there was nowhere to hurl his birdarang to save them from a sudden death.

"Sorry, Raven!" he cried as the ground rushed to meet him. However, just before he was sure every bone in his body would break, the ground moved. In fact, it rushed back the way it had come. Robin found himself and Raven tumbling through the air – the momentum now horizontal, rather than vertical – before rolling to a stop on the lawn of the church grounds.

He got to his feet and brushed himself off, before reaching to help Raven up. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

She didn't answer, but pointed wordlessly back at the crumbling church. A red comet shot out of the heart of the falling bricks and rocketed away from them. BOOM! Seemingly out of nowhere, the church exploded again, the bricks flying even further than before. Flagstones smashed into the lawn, nearly crushing him and Raven. They were coming so fast; there was no way to avoid them. Robin stared, shocked, as one such flagstone plummeted straight towards them.

Suddenly, Raven – another one – stepped in front of him and held up her hands. A dome of darkness spread over them, shielding them from the falling rocks. Robin stared, along with the grey Raven, as the double protected them from the projectiles. She was wearing a brown cloak this time.

When the explosion had subsided, and the church began to tumble less dramatically, the new Raven dropped her hands, and the black dome disintegrated. She turned to face them, hands on hips, and cried,

"Do you realise what you've just _done?"_


	12. Serious Business

I'm very sorry, but for some strange reason everything in this chapter was wiped. I have rewritten it as best I could, but if there is a problem, please do tell me! Enjoy reading!

xxxx

Robin stared openly at the new Raven, who was clad in a brown cloak and a dark frown.

"Excuse me?"

She pulled one hand slowly down her face, showing her impatience. "You just ruined _everything!"_ she shrieked in rage. "I was keeping her in there! She was stable, unmoving. And thanks to you, she's out to destroy everything!"

"Who?" Robin shot back. "What are you talking about?"

"Me. Raven...another me. The grumpy side of me." The brown Raven seemed to have trouble explaining it.

"You mean _you're_ not the grumpy one?" Robin asked incredulously, looking at the grey Raven next to him, who nodded in agreement.

"No, I'm just the serious one."

"No kidding."

"Well, it's about time you got serious too! We're all in trouble now that she's out."

"Why? What will she do?" Robin stood up and helped the grey Raven up too. "I mean, that could possibly be worse than the city being sucked into a world of nothingness."

"Her only use is to destroy," said the brown Raven. "She will not stop, ever. She will kill anyone she sees, and topple any building in her way. You have seen Raven angry before, haven't you?"

"Well, yes..." Robin thought back to the fight with Mirror Master. "She sort of...goes over the edge, I guess."

The serious Raven nodded. "Raven's grumpy side is nothing like the rest of us. She does not think, nor feel. She follows her instinct, like an animal. Raven is always trying to keep this side of her controlled, but..."

"But? But what?" Robin cried.

"When free, the Raven in the red cloak is incredibly strong. You have seen this through the true Raven's intense anger, but you could not imagine the power this smaller part of Raven commands now that she is free from her bonds within the true Raven's mind." Raven handed him a piece of glass, which Robin took, before she continued. "Unfortunately, this 'grumpy' Raven has the last piece to the mirror, and it cannot be repaired unless we retrieve it."

"Of course," Robin groaned. "Where will we find her, then?"

"More than anything, the Raven in the red cloak hates her master – Raven, the full, true Raven. Your friend and teammate. The red Raven will first try to destroy her body and the remains of the mirror, so she can be free forever."

After a short silence, Robin raised an eyebrow. "But...with Raven gone, all of her personalities – all of you – will vanish. She'd be destroying herself."

"The red Raven doesn't realise that," Raven sighed. "That is why we must hurry to Titans Tower immediately."

Despite Robin's protests, the brown Raven picked Robin up by his arms and rocketed into the sky, heading towards their home.

xxxx

Beast Boy had searched the entire library all over again, but the purple-cloaked Raven had completely vanished. He groaned loudly and folded his arms over a windowsill, staring out into the red sky.

"Where are you, Raven?" he spoke aloud, hoping she might answer. But there was no reply.

Secretly, he had been hoping to spend some more time with the purple Raven. She was so nice to him, and it made his heart sing to be treated so friendly by her. He'd never felt so close to her before. Beast Boy couldn't help but smile at the memory of them sitting together, reading children's books.

Be-be-be-beep. Beast Boy instantly picked up his communicator and opened it. Cyborg's face filled the screen.

"Robin wants to know if you found her yet."

"No, she's gone."

"He also said that if you replied with that, I can say this..."

"...say what?" asked Beast Boy, confused.

Cyborg's mouth closed up to the screen and opened to scream the words, "THEN KEEP LOOKING!" The call ended.

Beast Boy pulled a sour face and put his communicator away, before transforming into a beetle and climbing over the windowsill, through a hole, and up the building to the roof. At the very top, he de-morphed and put a hand above his eyes, searching the cityscape for any possible signs of the purple Raven. It was then that he saw the odd glow in the sky.

"Huh?" Beast Boy squinted his eyes and peered at the sky. There was a spot that seemed to be glowing redder than the rest. Was it just his imagination, or was it getting bigger? As the glow grew, it formed a shape, and Beast Boy recognised the four, glowing, red eyes instantly.

"AAAAAGHHH!" he dived off of the rooftop and sped toward the ground, transforming into a hawk as he did. Why didn't he remember the most important Raven of all? The scariest, most dangerous one! It had completely slipped his mind. Did she have a piece of the mirror too?

The ground rushed to meet him, but before he hit the pavement, he spread his newly-morphed wings and shot back away from it, soaring into the air, now in the form of a harrier hawk. Behind him, he heard the pavement crunch and shatter, but he didn't dare look behind to see what had smashed it. He already had a fair idea. When he reached the rooftop again, his inner compass turned his wings before he even considered it, and he began heading towards Titans Tower as fast as he could.

Beast Boy heard a whooshing sound behind him, and using the same ploy as before, folded his wings and pointed his beak down, causing him to fall fast. A black disc whirled through the air where he had been flying a second before, and he heard distant growling, which he also recognised.

Thinking fast, the changeling spread his wings again and whirled to the left, in an upwards arc. _Keep going, keep going, _he thought. _Stay alive!_ He took a moment to turn his head and peer at his pursuer, and squawked in horror at the sight. The red-cloaked Raven was right on his tail, grinning like a hungry wolf, readying another black energy disc. Beast Boy was so terrified at the sight he forgot to look where he was going, and crashed right into a satellite dish.

WHAM! The force completely stunned him, and he rolled out of the dish, dazed. As he fell through the air, the world spinning, he felt warm hands catch him and take a firm hold. He saw a flash of purple and heard Raven's voice.

"We must get to the Tower!"

Doubly shocked, he tried to scream her name, but all that came out was "WARRK!"

"I don't speak bird, Beast Boy," she chuckled. Beast Boy blinked. Raven was laughing? They were about to _die!_

"WARK WARRRRK!" he shrieked again, barely thinking.

"Change into a mouse so you're lighter! Quick!"

The changeling complied, and the purple Raven placed his new furry form into the folds of her hood. He felt the wind rushing through her cloak, so she must be travelling very fast, but was it fast enough? He couldn't see what was going on. Was the red Raven still behind them? Would they make it to the Tower?

Whoosh! Raven began ducking and swinging during her flight, and Beast Boy heard the dreaded sound of energy discs slicing past, answering his question. He gulped and squeezed his tail, hoping the purple Raven would be okay.

He thought too soon.

He sensed it before Raven felt it; something hard and heavy crashed into the purple Raven's back, causing her flight to instantly stop and Beast Boy to fly out of her hood, unable to stop the momentum. Instinctively, he began transforming into a hawk in mid-air, and as he did, looked behind him to see Raven moan softly and began falling – unconscious. An entire chimney hovered in the air where she had been, held up by beams of black energy. The red Raven hissed, almost as though she was laughing, and turned to face the green mouse.


	13. Reunited in Terror

Before he'd finished morphing into a hawk, Beast Boy changed his mind and his body quickly changed. Now a pterodactyl, he grabbed the unconscious Raven from out of the air and swooped back down, just as a lethal disc of darkness sliced through where his neck had been.

_Get to the tower. Get to the tower. Get to the tower._ It was all that mattered. Once he got there, he should be safe. Robin had a plan...Robin _always_ had a plan. Beast Boy veered left and right, doing his best to avoid the shots from behind without looking behind him. The purple Raven's arms were tightly clutched within his giant talons, and she swung along with him as he rapidly banked right, then left, then right.

The shoreline! He could see it ahead. Only a few hundred metres after that was the Tower...and backup. He only hoped he could reach it in time...

xxxx

If he wasn't strained to his limit with the seriousness of the situation, Robin would have laughed at the group assembled on the Tower. It was one thing to meet a couple strange Ravens, but to see them all together was beyond imagination. After the brown Raven let him down, he went straight to the original Raven and the yellow one, who never left her side.

"Are they all here? The mirror, is it repaired? How is Raven?"

"Calm down, Robin," the yellow Raven murmured, pushing her glasses up her nose. "To answer your questions, 'they' are here, all of me. Except one. And the mirror is not yet complete – give me the pieces you have retrieved."

Robin handed his two shards to her, and she in turn placed them within the frame of the mirror. The glass healed itself instantly, as though it had never shattered. Now there was only a small, L-shaped hole in the centre.

"One more piece," he thought aloud. The yellow Raven nodded, and as she did, Cyborg appeared in the doorway to the stairs, followed by the happy Raven and one wearing an orange cloak. Robin raised an eyebrow.

Cyborg, a little less serious than Robin, saw the humour of the situation. "Here," he said. "Lemme introduce you to the collection." The half-robot guided the two brightly-coloured Ravens to the rest of the group, and began pointing to each of them in turn. "You've met her, she's the happy one. This one's the lazy one...yea, I know. I didn't know there was one either. Here's the brave Raven, and this is...according to Starfire, the 'emotionless' Raven."

"This isn't a party, Cyborg," said the brown Raven coldly.

Cyborg and Robin exchanged a look, the half-robot recognising this particular version of Raven. He retorted, "Well then, Raven, what do we do now?"

The 'serious' Raven explained to Cyborg and Starfire about the red-cloaked Raven. "She's coming _right now," _she hissed.

It just so happened that at that moment, there was a loud, panicked cry from above. Everyone instantly looked up and saw, several hundred metres away, Beast Boy, carrying another Raven. Or at least, he had been. It appeared he'd just been hit, and now he let go of the purple-cloaked Raven and fell, unable to fly anymore.

Robin and Starfire launched themselves off of the edge of the Tower and caught both of the Titans in the nick of time. Robin shot his birdarang back up to the roof and Cyborg caught it, while Starfire floated back up, a dazed Beast Boy in her arms.

"Ow-ow! Don't touch my arm!" the changeling cried, holding his left forearm and grimacing in pain. "Up there! Quick, watch out!"

POW! _BOOM!_ The large crowd on the Tower roof scattered as the renegade Raven threw more lethal spheres of energy down at them. As Robin and the purple Raven reached the roof, they were almost knocked back, as another projectile blew the edge into rubble. Robin dived forward, still holding Raven, and they landed safely on the tarmac. The Titans leader yelled, "Does 'that one' have the last piece?"

From across the onslaught, Robin saw the yellow Raven nod solemnly. The entire group of Ravens (excepting a half-conscious purple one) had gathered around their fallen, original form, protecting her from her very own grumpy side. Robin thought quickly; they needed the last piece for the mirror, and of course they couldn't harm this red Raven, no matter what she was trying to do. They needed to subdue her somehow...distract her, perhaps.

He placed the slowly-waking purple Raven on the concrete next to Beast Boy, and tossed several tiny orbs straight up. BOM-BOM-BOM-PSSSSsss... Suddenly the air above was filled with dense smoke. Cyborg instantly understood the plan and turned his searchlight onto full-blast. The beam of white light tore through the smoke so the Titans could see a silhouette – Raven, coughing. Starfire soared into the black cloud and joined the silhouette. Since Beast Boy was injured, Robin had to jump onto Cyborg's shoulders and take a massive leap into the air, shooting one of his roped birdarangs as he did. Then there was only silence.

Beast Boy, Cyborg and the many Ravens stared into the smoke, wondering what was happening. There was a small moan beside the changeling, and he turned to see the Raven from the library, looking immensely tired. Barely knowing what he was doing, Beast Boy took her hand and squeezed it, making her smile back at him. Inside him he felt the sun shine; Raven's smile was rare, but beautiful – he was going to miss this side of Raven. That is, if they ever managed to get the last piece of the mirror...

"I got 'er!" Cyborg called. Out of the dense cloud, the red-cloaked Raven fell – right into the half-robot's arms. She was bound with tough cord, and her eyes burned in fury.

"Do you really think that will work?" the brown-cloaked Raven called, insinuating the worst. Even as Starfire carried Robin back out of the smoke, the thick, metallic cord began snapping away from Raven, sliced right through. As they fell away, the cords were drenched in darkness and began wrapping themselves around Cyborg.

The red Raven finally broke away, leaving the half-robot to deal with the possessed cords. She easily eluded both Robin and Starfire's grasp and glided swiftly away from the Titans and toward the huddling Ravens, her hands beginning to glow once more. The alien girl and Boy Wonder tore straight after her.

However, Beast Boy watched Cyborg in horror; helplessly lying on the concrete, as the tough cords began tightening, more...more...the metal began to bend, creating an awful clanking sound. "Cy!" he yelled. "Guys, help! Cybooorg!"

His call managed to catch everyone' attention, but not before it was too late. In one final squeeze, the cords binding Cyborg pulled so tight that one of his arms fell off...and, it seemed, so that he completely shut down. All of his lights went off, and Cyborg collapsed, as if...as if...

Every side of Raven but the red one screamed at the top of their lungs, "CYBORG, _NO!"_


	14. Out of Time

In moments like these, you wish that time really did stop. You wish that you could stare at the catastrophic tableau, so you could scream and cry enough so that somehow...you wouldn't have to fully realise the tragedy, or accept it. Losing someone you spend every day with, someone you trust and care for – someone you _love_ – is beyond any feeling you've ever felt. Somewhere inside, a thread just snaps, and you're left feeling empty; a gaping hole in your heart.

Every single side of Raven stared speechless at their fallen friend. Cyborg was lying in two pieces on the concrete, not a single light glowing, not a muscle twitching. Beast Boy, Starfire and Robin stared also, trying to understand what had just happened. As much as they all wanted time to stop, it didn't.

Starfire shattered the tableau by rushing to Cyborg's side and kneeling, shouting "Cyborg! Cyborg! Can you hear me?" Her sweet voice pulled everyone out of their shock and roughly threw them back into reality.

"How _could_ you?" The Raven in the green cloak cast a spinning kick into the red Raven's face, sending the rogue flying. "He was my friend! He was _your_ friend!" she screamed hollowly.

The red Raven hissed angrily, and lunged for the green Raven, but was intercepted by the brown one, who sent another kick into its face. She was quickly followed up by the pink Raven who, uncharacteristically frowning, head-butted the red Raven in the stomach. The renegade fell back to the concrete, hissing in pain.

"Please," a small voice called. "No fighting. Please stop fighting..." Beast Boy squeezed the purple Raven's hand tighter, and motioned for her to lie still. They were both too injured to even stand. Starfire ignored the commotion and draped her arms over Cyborg's metallic torso, sobbing.

"Cyborg...Cyborg...wake up...please wake up..." she begged through her tears. "You mustn't..."

Robin was torn. He was trained to leave emotion for later and to focus on the action at hand, but his brain almost refused to let him. Trying to ignore it, he went to the one person who would know what to do. He slunk past both parties and sidled up to the yellow Raven, who was still standing over the original Raven's body protectively.

She looked sadly at him. "Time," was all she said, and then she pointed with her eyes at the skyline. He looked.

Barely three hundred metres away, a giant spiral of black was forming in the scarlet sky. As it grew larger by the second, he could see things being sucked into it. Satellite dishes were pulled off roofs; leaves were being plucked by the thousand out of their trees. It was beginning; the city was as good as lost.

He turned back to the yellow Raven, eyes searching for answers. She pulled her glasses of her nose and looked down as she wiped them slowly on her cloak, avoiding his eyes, and spoke quietly, "The last piece. Raven...I mean, I..._we_...we need the last piece. Or else..." she then looked to the comatose Raven. Robin looked too, and could see his friend's black eyes beginning to close. Her skin was even paler now, and he could see what was happening.

Robin squeezed his fists and gritted his teeth. He might have lost Cyborg, and he couldn't possibly lose another team mate. And they weren't just team mates – they were best friends. He wouldn't let this happen. "Titans!" he yelled. _"Get that shard!"_

The group of Raven's had become all but a blur of colours. Red, pink, brown, orange...every one of them had joined in the brawl, leaving only the yellow one behind, and the purple one lying hurt on the ground. Robin dived into the fray, desperate to grab the shard while the red Raven was distracted. Starfire's eyes lit up and she screamed furiously, before following Robin into the crowd of fighting Ravens.

Beast Boy was still trying to realign his mind. Cyborg...was he gone? And Raven...and now the city too...everything was disappearing. Everything he loved was vanishing into the horrid darkness of the surreal night. He touched the tender spot on his arm and winced, then attempted to sit up properly. The world spun – he must be concussed or something. He couldn't do it. He'd never be able to help. He was too weak, too hurt...

"Beast Boy..." There it was again, the sweet voice that he knew he'd probably never hear again. He squinted his eyes to avoid getting too dizzy and turned back to the half-conscious Raven beside him. She whispered again, "Beast Boy..."

"Don't talk," he said nervously. "Just rest."

"Beast Boy, please..." she continued. "There must be no fighting. I cannot fight myself, Beast Boy. If one of us is hurt, it is going to affect us all, eventually. You _have_ to stop it."

"How? There's so many of you...I mean, them."

"The shard. The last shard. Get it and return it to the mirror. Please, Beast Boy. Hurry..." Then the purple Raven closed her eyes, leaving Beast Boy alone with her last words.

Beast Boy knew he had to. He wanted to. But how? He could barely move, let alone slip through the melee of fighting Ravens and Titans. He'd probably get knocked out before he got anywhere near the red Raven, who must be holding the very last piece to the mirror.

It was so simple he could have almost laughed at himself. Of course! He was Beast Boy; he could transform into _anything_. Even something that could squeeze past the fighting individuals and steal the precious shard.

In seconds, Beast Boy was a bright green dormouse. He crept – or more, hobbled – past Cyborg's lightless body and took a deep breath before entering the brawl. The fight was bad enough, but to an injured dormouse, everything is a thousand times bigger and a million times more dangerous. Beast Boy struggled to avoid the many stomping boots and falling bodies. Everyone was aiming to attack the red-cloaked Raven, but everyone _else_ was in the way. There were black discs and green spheres flying in all directions. Through his dormouse ears, he could hear Robin grunting with each blow he took and made, and decided to head towards the sounds. Robin was usually at the centre of a brawl, always trying to break it up. However, against several super-powered psychics, he was in a little over his head.

He found Robin's shoe and clambered onto it, wincing as his foreleg burned in pain. Trying to ignore it, he scrambled up Robin's leg and onto his shoulder, digging in his claws as Robin flailed around, trying to get past the fighting Ravens to the red one, each one blinded in anger at the loss of their friend.

Robin's mind worked extremely fast, so when he saw the little green mouse on his shoulder he knew exactly what to do – even if Beast Boy wouldn't like it. He picked up the little ball of fur and, with perfect aim, tossed Beast Boy right into the folds of the red Raven's cloak.

Initially terrified, Beast Boy curled into a ball between two folds and breathed extremely fast. It was only the memory of Raven's weak voice that kept him going.

_You _have_ to stop it. Please, Beast Boy._

Right. Find the shard. Find the shard. He kept repeating it in his mind as he crept over the folds and into the darkness of the cloak, hoping that one of the four glowing eyes wouldn't catch sight of him. It wasn't long until he found it; it was tucked right into the back of her hood.

However, as soon as he grabbed the shard (which was just as large as him) the red Raven had had enough. She hissed so loud that his ears rang, and went down on one knee, before punching the concrete with exaggerated force.

Not only the concrete exploded. A shockwave of dark energy shot out from her body, sending the entire crowd around her to the ground. Black flames erupted from nowhere, and the only reason Beast Boy remained alive in his tiny form was because he was inside the attacker's own hood. He took a peek outside.

And he couldn't believe what he saw.


	15. Dark to Dawn

Sorry for the cliffhangers, my lovely readers. Sometimes I have trouble ending chapters without them. At least it keeps you reading, right? ^_^

xxxx

Beast Boy had never witnessed something so awful. He could feel his heart breaking as he saw every single one of his friends on the ground, some groaning, some motionless. Pitch-black flames were still burning in places; it seemed as if the red Raven had created her own bomb.

Cyborg, gone. Raven, seemingly gone. Robin and Starfire's outfits had been burned almost clean off, and they lay on the ground, either unconscious or too much in pain to move. The crowd of Ravens had fallen too, though it seemed they hadn't sustained as much damage.

In the distance, Beast Boy could see the taller buildings of the city beginning to bend towards the giant black hole in the sky, the force beginning to suck them right out of the ground. Forgetting where he was, Beast Boy squeaked in horror.

In an instant, he was seized in a large, human hand and was face-to-face with the four-eyed, scarlet-cloaked Raven. She saw the shard in his hands and hissed furiously, beginning to squeeze him within her fist. Thinking quickly, Beast Boy transformed into a kangaroo and sent two large feet right into the offending Raven's gut, causing her to skid backwards and eventually fall onto her back.

_The mirror. Fix the mirror._ He had no time to lose. Beast Boy spun around and in two large leaps made it to the real Raven's side. He de-transformed.

"Quick! Here it is; the last piece! Fix it! Fix it!" he shrieked, high-pitched, as he handed the shard to the yellow Raven. They might already be too late.

The intelligent side of Raven snatched the shard and shoved it right into its L-shaped little hole. As soon as she did, there was another shockwave – a larger, more powerful one than before. It blasted outwards in a huge circle, knocking the yellow Raven and Beast Boy over. The changeling quickly looked up to see what was happening.

The invisible shockwave hurtled straight into the red Raven as she was pulling herself to her feet, and carried her right out over the edge of the roof. As he watched, the red Raven was forced through the air and crashed right into the giant, black spiral of doom.

As soon as she was engulfed by the darkness, the spiral began spinning the other way. As it did, objects began to fly back out of it, tumbling back down into the water below; a waterfall of paraphernalia. The encroaching tendrils of darkness that had been swarming the city began retreating back towards the Tower and the black hole, as if they were now the ones being sucked away. Beast Boy turned away from the terrifying sight to look back at his friends.

Robin was grinning at him, holding a feeble thumbs-up. The yellow Raven, kneeling now, smiled too. The purple Raven had regained consciousness too, and her eyes were glowing with happiness. Despite himself, Beast Boy went straight for her and kneeled down beside her, wincing as his arm blazed in pain. "I did it," he grinned. "I got the last piece."

She returned his smile. "You did...and I'm so glad for it. Thank you, Beast Boy."

"Here, I'll help you stand up," said the changeling, his spirit lifting now that he knew things were changing back.

"No, Beast Boy. Leave me. I won't need to get up now."

"W-what? What do you mean?" Beast Boy panicked.

"You have to remember, Beast Boy – I'm not the real Raven. I'm just one small part of her."

"But...but...you're so nice to me...and she_ isn't._ It's like you're two different people," argued Beast Boy.

"I'm still there, inside her...even if you can't see or feel me. Raven prefers to keep me hidden away, because she's afraid of me – just like she does with her grumpy side." To Beast Boy's utmost surprise, the purple Raven giggled. "Come on, Beast Boy. You can't like one part of someone and dislike the others. You have to accept the whole package."

"But, I do!" Beast Boy blurted. "I think you – I mean, you know, Raven – she's great. She's a good fighter, a good listener, she's smart and quick and she's even funny sometimes."

This seemed to shock her. "You...do?"

"Of course I do! I always have! We all do, I guess...but I mean – she always treats me like an idiot, but I still wanna be her friend..." There he was again, speaking nonsense. No wonder Raven thought he was an idiot.

Raven smiled warmly back at him. "Thank you," she repeated, then closed her eyes. Before he could say anymore, she too seemed to be blown away by an invisible force. He grabbed at her, but missed, and watched sadly as she flew through the air and right into the growing spiral. He felt Robin's hand rest on his shoulder, which seemed to help a little.

The two boys watched as each Raven – even the yellow one – was pulled away from the roof by the black hole. The many colours of Raven disappeared into the darkness within seconds, and soon only the original Teen Titans were left on the Tower's rooftop.

As soon as the last piece of Raven was sucked into it, the spiral itself began shrinking twice as fast as it had grown. The dark tendrils snaked their way back up the Tower's walls and flew back up into the black hole. One tendril burst right out of the sky itself, making the sky turn to a warm, dark blue, and followed the others into the spiralling darkness.

Before the black hole got too small to see, a ray of pure, dark energy flew from it and crashed into the once-shattered handheld mirror that was lying on the ground next to Raven's floating body. Robin and Beast Boy rushed to grab it, thinking it was going to be destroyed once more, but the mirror flew up into the air and – to their surprise _–_ began_ sucking up the black hole itself._

It was all over in less than a minute. The spiral of darkness disappeared right into mirror; the city became free of Nevermore, and the sky was now lit by the rising sun. Beast Boy caught the mirror as it fell back to the ground, now holding Nevermore within its ominous, glass face. He was about to say something when the mirror began shaking in his hand. The changeling held it steady, refusing to let the night's episode repeat itself, and as he did, a man literally _popped_ right out of the glass.

It was Mirror Master, or at least, what was left of him. His strange jumpsuit had been torn further and his hair seemed to have been pulled out by the roots. He lay on the concrete, shaking uncontrollably. "I'm free," he moaned. "I'm free. Sunlight, air...I'm fr-" Robin thwacked his open hand into the back of Mirror Master's head, causing the older man to fall unconscious.

"Robin! Robin, look!" Beast Boy called. Robin rushed to the changeling's side just in time to see Raven – their own, real Raven – open her eyes at last.

xxxx

Psh, don't worry. I wouldn't just end it like that! Cyborg could be de...no, I won't say. Anyway, please read and review! The more ecstatic they are the faster I'll update. ^_^


	16. Bringing Back the Dead

I love you, my wonderful reviewers! I wrote as fast as I could, but I couldn't upload until I finished work. Enjoy!

xxxx

It was really quite beautiful. As Raven – very, very slowly – woke up, the sun rose to where it should have been; it was dawn at last. Beast Boy and Robin supported her back as she rubbed her eyes. Her body slowly lowered itself onto the floor of the rooftop, until Robin had her back leaning against one of his legs, keeping her in a sitting-upright position. She looked extremely tired.

Beast Boy kneeled in front of her and cautiously took both of her hands. She looked sleepily down at them and mumbled something.

"Didn't catch that," Beast Boy grinned, unable to contain his glee. But to his surprise, she whipped her hands out of his and abruptly stood up.

"Cyborg!" she cried, looking up, as if remembering something. She then looked back down to Cyborg's broken, lightless body, several metres away, and ran right to it. Beast Boy followed her closely, heart tightening once more at the sight of his fallen friend.

Starfire had woken up too, and Robin helped her stand up, letting her lean against him. They both looked as if they really had survived an atomic bomb, with clothes singed half-off and hair splayed out in all directions. The Boy Wonder and the Tamaranean stood next to Beast Boy and looked sadly at Raven, who was now kneeling next to Cyborg, more awake than ever.

"Cyborg, I'm so sorry..." she whispered. "I could have stopped myself, I could have..."

"Raven, please don't blame yourself," Robin murmured squatting down to her level. "You weren't in control at all."

"This was never meant to happen," Raven continued, ignoring him. "This is all my fault; I'm so sorry, Cyborg." She laid her head onto Cyborg's metallic collarbone and sighed sadly. The other Titans looked at each other nervously, wondering what would happen.

Raven gasped audibly, and all three Titans leaned in. "What is it?" they asked in unison. She glared at them, though not unfriendly. "Quick," she said in a business-like tone. "Let's get him down to the infirmary." She closed her eyes and put her hands in a strange formation. "Azerath," she murmured. "Metrion...Zinthos!" Cyborg's body was lifted into the air by Raven's powers, and followed her as she hurried to the door to the stairway.

"Could it be?" Starfire whispered hopefully. "Cyborg...?"

"Come on Star, Beast Boy," said Robin. "Take Cyborg's arm and go with Raven. I'm going to take Mirror Master to his cell...and I'll make sure he stays there."

Starfire nodded. Beast Boy wordlessly picked up his friend's broken-off arm and solemnly followed after Raven, his brain obviously working at full speed, made apparent by the serious, pained expression on his face. This night's ordeal was all over...but it didn't feel like it. Not yet.

xxxx

Raven was surprisingly handy with Cyborg's tools. Beast Boy and Starfire watched in pained silence off to one side as the dark girl rushed around the infirmary, carrying wrenches, screws, hammers and wires. The atmosphere was unreal. The two Titans wished they could congratulate Raven, comfort her...or _something._ She'd just been through a magnificently terrible ordeal, and she was completely ignoring that it had never happened. They both desperately wanted to talk with her, or at least ask her how she felt – but it looked like there was no getting through to her.

After ten minutes, Robin returned, and joined the silent pair at the edge of the room. "How is she?" he asked quietly.

"She won't talk to us," Beast Boy replied, equally quiet but sounding indignant. "It's like we aren't even here."

Robin thought for a moment, and then joined Raven by the gurney. He held down the replacement metal plating Raven had been battering and said, "Here, let me hold that,"

She still said nothing, but let him hold the plating as she screwed it on with a tiny, electric gun. Robin motioned for Starfire and Beast Boy to approach, and they did, but hesitantly. Minutes later, they were all helping to fix Cyborg's body, but there were still no words being said.

Beast Boy cursed himself even more during the silence. Of course _Robin_ had known what to do – Robin _always_ knew what to do. He seemed to understand people better than anyone (aside from Raven herself). Just for once, Beast Boy wanted to be the one to rescue Raven. Just so she could see that he really, truly, profoundly cared for her.

After what felt like hours of excruciating silence, Cyborg looked just as good as new...well, almost. Cyborg himself was really the only one who could repair his body properly. However, though his body was restored, Cyborg was still not awake. The Titans held their breath, wondering what Raven would do next.

What she did wasn't in fact the miracle they had been hoping for; some sort of life-bringing spell. No. In fact, Raven plugged Cyborg's recharging cord into his chest and turned on the battery charger. Once that was done, she swept her cloak around and rushed out of the infirmary, without a single word to the other Titans.

When in fact, Cyborg's body began lighting up once more, the Titans were filled with hope – however, they all still worried about what was wrong with Raven. Had she been injured somehow? Why was she ignoring them like she was? Beast Boy, Robin and Starfire each felt somewhat responsible for her behaviour. Perhaps they had said something to one of her 'personalities' that had offended her? Perhaps Raven felt at fault for everything that had happened, and was shutting herself away to keep them 'safe'?

Nevertheless Starfire, the most emotional, sensitive one of them all, could not _stand_ Raven seeming so upset. She'd already seen Raven's emotionless side, and it seemed that that personality was the one in control right now. Ignoring all taboo, Starfire stormed back up to the roof of the Tower and stomped her foot by Raven's cross-legged form.

The dark girl barely glanced at her. "What?" she growled.

"Friend Raven, I do realise that last night must have been terrible for you. However, I cannot stand to see you like this. You refuse to talk to us, even though we are desperate to help in any way we can." Here, Starfire took a deep breath. "What is 'the deal' with you?"

There was a long, deadly silence, in which Starfire almost blurted out several ready-made apologies. Then Raven finally replied, "Sorry, Starfire. I never meant to upset you so much."

It seemed like an invitation, so Starfire sat down next to her. "It is okay," she began, but was cut off by the dark girl.

"No, it's not, Starfire. Even after all that has happened...all my personalities and emotions running wild, with no holding back...I feel...I feel dead. I feel _unclean."_

"Dead? Unclean?" Starfire echoed. "You are still the same Raven are you not? You are still a Teen Titan; our best friend. You are still _our _Raven."

"Just forget it," Raven murmured, obviously regretting her outburst.

"No, I won't," Starfire countered. "If you want me to repeat last night's conversation, I will gladly do it! There is no way I am going to let you bury yourself like this."

"Okay, okay Starfire..." Raven sighed.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm quite sure."

"Are you extremely sure? I will, you know."

"I'm _sure,"_ Raven stressed, and suddenly found herself giggling. She stopped herself abruptly in shock.

"There!" cried Starfire, sounding immensely satisfied. "You aren't dead at all!" The alien girl's grin was impossible to ignore, and Raven returned a small smile. However, before either of them could say anything more, Robin burst upon the scene, literally, as the door to the stairs flew open.

"Cyborg!" he shouted, sounding thrilled. "He's awake!"

xxxx

Whoopsies, still haven't finished yet! Sorry, just trying to work up a proper closure here. I'm quite particular with them, you see. A bad ending makes a great story just good. I will start writing the next chapter as soon as this is uploaded.


	17. The Day After Valentine's Day

Prepare for some subtle, Ravinesque-style cuteness...

* * * *

In the living room, hugs were exchanged all around, excluding of course, Raven. She stood to one side with arms crossed, a surly expression on her face. This wasn't uncharacteristic, but that didn't make it any less down-heartening. The still-rising sun was now pouring through the large panes of glass, shining brightly on the broken shards from the one shattered pane.

"I'm so glad you're okay, buddy!" Beast Boy pounded fists with the revived half-robot, utterly thrilled that his friend was okay at last. "You looked awful!"

"Thanks B...I think," Cyborg beamed back at the changeling.

"Cyborg, it is glorious to see you up again!" Starfire cried, and then tackle-hugged him for the third time. Cyborg didn't mind though – this sort of behaviour was to be expected from the kindest of all the Titans.

"Good to have you back," said Robin, pounding fists as well.

Cyborg turned to Raven. "Thanks so much for helping me, Raven," he grinned. "You're simply amazing." Then, in a moment of tactlessness, he added, "And your mirror is all fixed too!"

Everyone's attention flew to Raven, and she almost cowered under their gaze. "It's okay," she said simply, fighting to hide any emotion. _Look away,_ she thought. _Just ignore me...please_.

Robin instantly understood. "Okay guys," he said, keeping up a happy facade. "How about you three start making some great party waffles for breakfast?" As he spoke, he ushered Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire into the kitchen area. They were smart enough to know what he meant, so they let him be.

When the other three Titans were busy arguing over ingredients in the kitchen, Robin went to stand by Raven at the broken window.

"Sorry," he murmured, as an apology for Cyborg.

To his surprise, she gave him a tiny smile. "You shouldn't say sorry when you don't need to."

Robin smiled back at her. "Well, I guess I learned from the best."

Raven averted her eyes again. "But...it really is my fault, you know. That mirror caused so much damage..._I_ caused so much damage. The city was nearly lost to oblivion."

"Aren't you the one who always says that we cannot change the truth? What's happened has happened, Raven."

"Yes, I know," she replied. "However...I can't stop thinking about it. I was there you know – the whole time – I was each one of those Ravens you met. I remember everything you said – everything that _everyone_ said to me."

Robin blanched a little. "I hope...I hope no one said anything offensive."

There it was again – a small, subtle smile that lit up her face. "No, not offensive, but it's got me thinking. All this time I have been isolating myself; thinking you all call me 'creepy' and that you keep your distance. But the way you have all been explaining things...it's almost like...well, like _I'm_ the one at fault. I'm the one who is supposed to-"

"Raven, stop," Robin held his hand up. "No one – I repeat, _no one_ – is at fault. We're all young, and we all suffer from different things. Just because you handle things differently doesn't make us think you're creepy. I don't know what the others said to you, but I definitely recall telling you that we are your _best friends_, and _nothing _comes between that. Stop making yourself sound like a problem that needs to be fixed, and instead _work_ on your friendship. Not one of us will ever scorn you, or push you away – _ever_. If you want help, ask. And if someone else needs help, offer. That's really all there is to it."

Raven felt chastised, but smiled again at him. "Okay," she said.

"I feel like I keep repeating myself," said Robin, sighing. Then he added quickly, "Don't say sorry to that."

"Wasn't going to," Raven replied, suddenly light-hearted. "Thank you, Robin...again. You're a good leader...and...and you're a good friend."

"So are you," he answered back, squeezing her shoulder affectionately. "Now, would you do me a favour, and look at the door to your bedroom?"

* * * *

Raven had already seen the presents outside her door, but found herself doubly surprised when she approached them the second time. To the right of her door, there were three, small, wrapped presents accompanied by little notes, each signed by one of the Titans, along with an extra – supposedly from Silkie. What were they for?

However, she was sure there had been another present on the left side – she distinctly remembered a rose lying there. How long ago that seemed...it had been less than twenty-four hours. She bent down, scooped up the presents and carried them inside her room. Once inside, she placed them on her dresser, next to the dreaded, handheld mirror that had caused so much trouble the night before. She was about to open the smallest one when she heard a knock on her door. Raven knew who it would be before she opened the pneumatic door, and she rubbed her eyes nervously.

It was Beast Boy.

There he was again, standing abnormally straight-up with both hands behind his back. She could sense him shaking – was it actual fear? No, Robin had already reminded her that they didn't think she was creepy. He must be nervous, then.

"Yes?" She tried to sound pleasant, but she really didn't feel it.

Suddenly, a rose was shoved in her face. Beast Boy held it at arm's length, eyes tight shut. "Um," he choked, through gritted teeth. "I know it's a day late and everything...but I wanted to say it." Here, he cleared his throat and opened his eyes, trying to look suave, but ending up looking a little terrified. "Happy Valentine's Day!" he blurted.

So that's what all the presents were for. Yesterday had been St Valentine's Day...and she'd blatantly ignored everyone's presents. The memory of Beast Boy standing outside her door was held in a new light, and suddenly she felt incredibly embarrassed.

"Thank you, Beast Boy," she said, trying to sound even a little jovial. She took the rose from him and customarily sniffed it, but Beast Boy remained. She looked quizzically at him, and added "It's very, er...nice."

"I...I..." the changeling was choking on his words again. For someone with a big mouth, he seemed to be abnormally timid. "I...got you this," he declared, and held out a present; a small, blue box wrapped with black ribbons. "Don't worry," he added. "It's not chocolate."

She took the box and held it in her palm for several seconds, before realising he was desperate to see her open it. Sighing inwardly, she slid the rose stem through her brooch and began pulling at the ribbons. Beast Boy wouldn't take his eyes off it, and she couldn't help but silently chuckle.

However, when she pulled the lid off the box and saw what was inside, she let forth a loud gasp.

It was a carving. A small one at that, made out of dark walnut – it really did in fact look like chocolate. The dark wood was an intricately carved sculpture of a raven, nestling in the centre of a rose in full-bloom. It was unbelievably beautiful.

Raven stared at it, speechless. Beast Boy wrung his hands, hoping she didn't dislike it. "Sorry if you think it's tacky," he said. "It just...I dunno...I just thought of you when I saw it, I guess."

"I love it, Beast Boy."

"Wh-what? Really?"

She looked up at him and smiled. Not just a small smile – a real, full smile that blew Beast Boy away. He blushed, rubbed his arm nervously, and said simply, "I'm glad."

Before he could prepare himself, Raven's arms suddenly flew around him, and he found himself in a real hug. This wasn't just the one, compassionate part of Raven – this was the whole, real Raven...and she was hugging him.

"Beast Boy," she said softly. "I don't hate you. I've never hated you, so please don't think like that. Everything you've told me – I remember it all, and I'm sorry that I make you feel so terrible. I hope you realise that I really do want to be your friend."

This wasn't happening. It couldn't be...this was real? She was apologising? She was _hugging him?_ Beast Boy suddenly felt very dizzy. But he answered, "It's okay, Raven. How about we just forget about it and start it all over?"

She stood back from him and looked him straight in the eye, and he returned the serious look. "Best friends?" he asked.

Raven nodded, smiling genuinely. "Best friends."

* * * *

Well, I'm afraid that that's the end, my dears. I want to thank _EVERY SINGLE PERSON_ who reviewed, alerted and favourited this story – only you kept this story going! Without encouragement, my default mind setting is "this story sucks..." so you are, in fact, my heroes. I love you so much, and I'm so glad that you enjoyed my story. I'm out of ideas now, since I've written my two-part epic and my "cuteness" story...so if anyone has any prompts, I might just give them a go. Once again, thanks! You make writing ten times more fun. ^__^


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